W Tennessee Detention is for Private Facility offenders have not been sentenced yet and are detained here until their case is heard.
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The phone carrier is Inmate Calling Solutions (ICSolutions), to see their rates and best-calling plans for your inmate to call you.
If you are unsure of your inmate's location, you can search and locate your inmate by typing in their last name, first name or first initial, and/or the offender ID number to get their accurate information immediately Registered Offenders
Located in Mason, TN, W Tennessee Detention operates as a private contractor with various government agency agreements providing state-minimum custody requirements. Programs are offered to all custody levels, including work release residents focused on reentry success. With a strong emphasis on rehabilitation, W Tennessee Detention provides comprehensive educational and vocational opportunities. Onsite amenities include dietary, health, fitness, educational, religious, and recreational services. Regular inspections ensure compliance with government standards, ensuring the facility's continued operation.
The West Tennessee Detention Facility in Mason, Tennessee, is a privately operated correctional center that houses ICE detainees under contract with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Operated by CoreCivic, the facility has become one of the larger immigration detention sites in the Mid-South region, routinely housing detainees awaiting deportation proceedings, asylum hearings, transfer actions, or immigration court decisions. Located northeast of Memphis in rural Tipton County, the detention center serves as an important part of ICE’s southeastern detention network and frequently receives detainees transferred from federal enforcement operations throughout the southern and central United States.
The detention center maintains a capacity of 600 detainees, according to federal detention records and CoreCivic operational data. Originally opened in 1991 as a correctional facility for state inmates, the complex later expanded its role through federal detention agreements involving ICE and the U.S. Marshals Service. The secure facility includes intake and booking sections, housing pods, transportation staging areas, medical services, recreation yards, attorney visitation rooms, and electronic communication systems designed to support large-scale detention operations. ICE detainees housed at the facility are primarily adult males awaiting immigration proceedings or transfer to other detention centers and federal court jurisdictions.
ICE Detainee Information
This facility holds immigration detainees under an active contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in addition to its regular population. ICE detainees are civil immigration detainees, not criminal defendants, and are held while their immigration cases are processed. The rules, rights, and services that apply to ICE detainees differ from those that apply to the general jail population.
To locate an ICE detainee at this facility, use the ICE Online Detainee Locator at locator.ice.gov. You will need the detainee's A-Number, a nine-digit Alien Registration Number that appears on any immigration document they have received. If the A-Number has fewer than nine digits, add zeros at the beginning. If you do not have the A-Number, you can search using the detainee's full legal name, country of birth, and date of birth. Names must be an exact match; try variations if the first search returns no results.
Immigration bond works differently from criminal bail. Not all detainees are eligible for bond; those with certain criminal convictions or prior deportation orders may be subject to mandatory detention. For those who are eligible, bond is set by an immigration judge and typically ranges from $1,500 to over $10,000. Bond must be paid in full before release. An immigration attorney can request a bond hearing and argue for a lower amount based on the detainee's circumstances.
Unlike criminal defendants, ICE detainees do not have the right to a government-appointed attorney. They must hire a private immigration attorney or find free legal help through a nonprofit organization. RAICES provides legal services and bond assistance at raicestexas.org. The National Immigrant Justice Center offers free legal representation at immigrantjustice.org. Many immigration courts also maintain a list of free and low-cost legal service providers available to detainees upon request.
ICE transfers detainees between facilities frequently and with little advance notice, sometimes to locations far from family and legal counsel. If you cannot locate your family member through this page, search the ICE Online Detainee Locator again at locator.ice.gov with their A-Number. If they have an attorney, notify the attorney immediately as transfers affect court appearances and case timelines.
The facility operates within Tipton County, where countywide law enforcement responsibilities fall under the Tipton County Sheriff’s Office, currently led by Sheriff Shannon Beasley. Although the detention center itself is privately managed under federal contracts, local law enforcement agencies remain involved in transportation coordination, emergency response operations, and broader public safety support tied to the facility. Detention operations at the Mason facility have become economically important within the surrounding rural communities, providing correctional employment opportunities and contributing to the regional economy through federal detention contracts and correctional staffing.
The West Tennessee Detention Facility has periodically received national attention from immigration advocacy groups, attorneys, journalists, and oversight organizations examining detainee treatment and detention conditions within privately operated ICE facilities. Reports over the years have raised concerns involving detainee healthcare access, staffing shortages, prolonged detention, and allegations tied to facility conditions. During periods of heightened immigration enforcement, detainee populations at the facility have increased substantially, placing additional pressure on staffing and inmate management systems. Because of its location outside major metropolitan legal centers, some immigration advocates have also criticized the challenges detainees face obtaining in-person legal representation while housed at the facility.
Despite continuing national debate surrounding private immigration detention, the West Tennessee Detention Facility remains an active and important part of ICE’s broader detention infrastructure in the southeastern United States. Federal authorities continue utilizing the facility to house detainees transferred from border regions, county jails, and immigration enforcement actions occurring throughout multiple states. Its moderate-to-large capacity, secure detention design, and established federal detention agreements allow DHS and ICE to maintain operational flexibility within the region’s immigration enforcement system. As immigration detention operations continue evolving nationwide, the West Tennessee Detention Facility is expected to remain one of the more active ICE detention centers operating in the Mid-South.
