Harlingen City Jail

The jail roster is one long table, not a search box. Here is how to work it on a phone or computer:

1. Open the roster and let the whole table load.
2. Use your browser's "Find in page" tool (Ctrl+F on a computer). Type the last name.
3. Match the booking date with the day of the arrest, so you know it's your person and not someone with the same name.
4. Read the charges column for each count.
5. Write down both numbers shown, the booking number and the SO number. Staff may ask for one when you call, visit or send money.

The table covers people held now and those let go within the last week. Bond amounts and the building a person sleeps in aren't part of the table, so call the jail at 956-554-6701 for those. The list leaves out anyone the jail is holding for a federal agency.

Don't panic. When a name is missing, the cause is often one of these:

• The arrest is too new. The roster updates about every two hours, and booking takes time. Check back later.
• The person is in a city jail. Harlingen police hold their own arrests at the Harlingen City Jail, 956-216-5465. The city posts its own jail lists page.
• The case is federal or immigration. Those people are left off the county list.
• The person was released more than seven days ago, or moved to another county or to state prison.
• The spelling differs. Some people go by two last names. Search each one alone, then a short piece of the name.

Still stuck? Call the Sheriff's Office dispatch desk at 956-554-6700. Ask which agency made the arrest and where the person is being held.

The Sheriff's Jail Division runs four adult buildings. Booking and first hearings happen in Olmito. To learn which building holds your person, and who each one houses, call the jail.

• Carrizales-Rucker Detention Facility, 7100 Old Alice Rd., Olmito, TX 78575, 956-554-6701. New arrests are booked here, and the Magistrate Court sets bail here. It is also the Jail Division's headquarters.
• Ruben Torres Detention Center (Detention Center 1), 1145 E. Harrison St., Brownsville, TX 78520, 956-544-0836. Call this line to ask who is housed here.
• Detention Center 2, same address, 956-544-0814. It shares the Harrison Street address with Ruben Torres.
• Old County Jail, 954 E. Harrison St., Brownsville, TX 78520, 956-544-0865. The county still lists it among its jail buildings.

Two cities keep short-term lockups. The Harlingen City Jail, run by the Harlingen Police Department, is at 956-216-5465. The City of Brownsville also lists a 24-hour city jail. For where a city arrest is held, call the Sheriff's dispatch desk at 956-554-6700.

Youth under 17 are sent instead to San Benito's Darrell B. Hester Juvenile Justice Center. Was the arrest made over the line in a neighboring county? Then check that county's jail, such as the Hidalgo County Adult Detention Center, 701 E El Cibolo Rd, Edinburg, TX 78541, 956-381-7900.

Lots of people go hunting for mugshots after an arrest. To get an official booking photo, ask the Sheriff's Office in writing. Texas treats basic arrest facts as public information (GC 552.108(c)). The steps:

1. Write a short Public Information Act request. Name the person, add their birth date and the day they were booked, and say you want the booking photo.
2. Send it to the Sheriff's Office, 7300 Old Alice Road, Olmito, TX 78575. Call 956-554-6700 to ask whether email or mail is best.
3. Expect a prompt reply. If the office needs over ten business days, it must give you a date.

Mugshot websites face a Texas law too. A site whose removal fee is $150 or higher has to correct or delete a false or incomplete record without charging. Records cleared by expunction or hidden by a nondisclosure order are off-limits to such sites (Business and Commerce Code ch. 109). Some removal fees remain legal.

The state's Texas 10 Most Wanted pages show photos of listed fugitives. ICE photos need a records request through ICE FOIA. The federal government keeps its booking photos private as a rule. The U.S. Marshals may make an exception, for example to help catch a fugitive.

Yes. Texas uses Texas IVSS-Counties for custody alerts. It replaced the old VINE system. Here is what it does:

• Sends a notice by phone, text or email after a booking or a release, a transfer to TDCJ, or a hearing that gets scheduled or moved.
• Works in English or Spanish, and costs nothing.
• Keeps your sign-up private. The person in jail is not told.
• Lets you sign up with or without an account. Search by full or partial name.

Its help line, 866-268-8959, never closes. You can also check the Sheriff's jail roster, since released people stay on it for seven days.

A magistrate at the Magistrate Court inside Carrizales-Rucker, 7100 Old Alice Rd., Olmito, TX 78575, sees each arrested person within 48 hours (CCP art. 15.17(a)). The county aims for 24. The magistrate reads the charge, explains the right to a lawyer, and sets bond.

• Cash bond: the full amount is paid, and it comes back when the case ends, less any fee.
• Surety bond: a bondsman on the county board's licensed list posts it, and keeps the fee you pay.
• Personal bond: release on a signed pledge, screened and supervised by Pre-Trial Services.

Call the Magistrate Court at 956-350-6900 for the bond amount and how to post it. It is open weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and weekends 7:00 to 11:00 a.m. Our bail and release page explains holds, bondsmen and refunds. For the Texas rules behind it, see our state bail law page.

The jail roster lists the charges next to each name. For more detail:

• Search the county's court records portal by name once a case is filed.
• Felony details come from the District Clerk's criminal desk, 956-544-0839.
• For a Class A or B misdemeanor, call the County Clerk's criminal department at 956-544-0848.
• Watch the first hearing live on the Magistrate Court's YouTube channel, where arraignments are streamed.

Both clerks work in the Judicial Building, 974 E. Harrison St., Brownsville, TX 78520. A charge can change after arrest. The prosecutor may add, drop or lower counts once the case is reviewed.

During the magistrate hearing, the person is asked whether they want a lawyer at county expense, and the magistrate helps with the form. No adult public defender office exists here. Private lawyers are appointed in turn from lists, and Pre-Trial Services decides who qualifies.

• The cutoff is income up to 125% of the U.S. poverty guideline, plus no more than $15,000 in assets the person can use.
• Family can help gather the papers on the county's document checklist. The affidavit comes in English and Spanish.
• Expect a lawyer's name within about one working day of the request.

Pre-Trial Services works out of the Judicial Building's second floor, 974 E. Harrison St., Brownsville, TX 78520, 956-574-8118. Ask there if you don't know who the lawyer is.

Visits are a privilege, but the jail must allow at least two 20-minute visits a week. The schedule must include an evening or weekend slot. People still waiting on bond may get extra visits to help arrange it. Before you go:

• The person fills out a visitor card at booking and can list five approved visitors. Ask them to add you.
• Carry ID with your photo on it. A Texas driver's license or DPS ID, passport, military ID, U.S. visa or border crossing card, or Matricula Consular all work.
• Teens and children can visit only with their parent or guardian. Each adult may bring no more than two children.
• Sign in 20 minutes before a face-to-face visit, but not more than an hour early. Late visitors are turned away.
• Only car keys and ID may come into the visit area. Skirts, shorts and dresses must reach at least two inches below the knee.

Video visits from home cost $0.30 a minute through the jail's phone provider. Days and times are set by the Sheriff, so call the building that holds the person, such as Carrizales-Rucker at 956-554-6701. Lawyers may visit daily from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. See our visiting guide for more.

Mail a money order or certified check, payable to the person in jail, to this address:

CO Inmate Trust Fund, P.O. Box 1539, Olmito, TX 78575

Include the person's name and Inmate ID number so it posts to the right account. A few rules to know:

• Cash sent by mail is sent back.
• Money can't be moved from one inmate's account to another's.
• Cash the person had at booking goes into the account.
• Commissary is bought from the account, and the balance is returned at release or transfer.

For other ways to add money, call the jail at 956-554-6701. Details on deposits are in our money guide. For what the store sells and how ordering works, open our commissary page.

People can use the phones soon after booking. Every housing area has them. Calls are prepaid and charged per minute, and no fee is added to connect.

• You can't call in to a person. Approved inmates can get voicemail.
• Three-way calls are not allowed.
• Accounts can be funded any time, day or night. The phone provider's call center is 800-943-2189.
• Text messages cost $0.25 each. Picture or video messages cost $0.35 each. They arrive right away, with no limit on how many.

Setup help is on our phone guide and our messaging page.

Mail must come through the post office. The front desk won't take it. Your name and return address go on the outside. Write the person's full name, Inmate ID number and pod or cell. Use the building where they are held:

• Carrizales-Rucker Detention Facility, 7100 Old Alice Rd., Olmito, TX 78575
• Ruben Torres Detention Center & Detention Center II, 1145 E. Harrison St., Brownsville, TX 78520
• Cameron County Jail, 954 E. Harrison St., Brownsville, TX 78520

Things that will get mail rejected:

• Packages, stamps, stickers, labels, staples, paper clips, glitter, stones, fabric, lipstick or perfume.
• Laminated items or hardcover books.
• Mail from a third party, or photos with nudity, gang signs or alcohol.

Books must be paperback, prepaid and shipped straight from a publisher or bookstore. A person may keep up to six photos. See our mail guide for tips.

Clothing pickup for family runs Monday, Tuesday and Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Bring a photo ID.

• At Carrizales-Rucker, belongings go home with the person if they are released before 5:00 p.m. Later releases get property the next business day.
• When the person moves to another county, the transport agency takes their property and money along.
• A move to state prison starts a 30-day clock for family to collect leftover items, on weekdays between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.

Call Carrizales-Rucker at 956-554-6701 before you drive out.

The jail's medical staff treat people inside. To protect privacy, the jail won't share medical details with family, and family calls aren't put through to the medical unit.

• If the person takes a prescribed medicine, you may bring it in. The medical department must approve it first.
• Tell the jail about serious health needs when you call, at 956-554-6701.
• The jail must give people a way to file a complaint, posted in the handbook and common areas.

When a problem drags on, contact the state's jail watchdog. The Texas Commission on Jail Standards accepts complaints through its complaint page, at 512-463-5505, or by email at info@tcjs.state.tx.us.

In this county, warrants go out with Sheriff's deputies, constables in five precincts and city police. Call the Sheriff's dispatch desk at 7300 Old Alice Road, Olmito, TX 78575, 956-554-6700, and ask about a name. Online, see the Sheriff's Most Wanted list, the DPS 10 Most Wanted and the Harlingen city warrant page. The county court portal also shows filed cases. To deal with one, the person can turn themselves in, with a lawyer's help, at the issuing court. Some can be handled by phoning that court about a new setting. Felony warrants go through the District Clerk at 974 E. Harrison St., Brownsville, TX 78520, 956-544-0839.

Look up the case on the county's online court portal by name or case number. Misdemeanor settings also appear on the County Clerk's court calendar.

• Felony dates: District Clerk, 956-544-0838.
• Class A and B dates: County Clerk's criminal department, 956-544-0848, weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Jail dockets: County Court at Law No. 5 hears in-custody cases on Mondays and Tuesdays at 9:00 a.m.

Both clerks are in the Judicial Building, 974 E. Harrison St., Brownsville, TX 78520. IVSS-Counties can also alert you to a new or moved court setting. Our court guide follows a case from the magistrate to the verdict.

The county roster skips anyone held for a federal case. Those charges are filed in the Brownsville Division of the federal district court, 600 E. Harrison Street, Brownsville, TX 78520, 956-548-2500.

1. Call the U.S. Marshals office, 600 East Harrison, Suite 104, Brownsville, TX 78520, 956-548-2519. Ask where the person is being held before trial.
2. Ask about the detention hearing. A federal judge decides there whether the person can be released while the case goes on (18 U.S.C. 3142).
3. Families who can't pay for a federal defense can call the Federal Public Defender, 600 East Harrison Street, Room 102, Brownsville, TX 78520, 956-548-2573.
4. Once a federal prison term begins, type the name into the Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

First, ICE lodges a written detainer, Form I-247A, naming the person. With that on file, staff can keep the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)), giving ICE time to collect them. Texas law has jails honor these requests, except for a person who proves lawful status (CCP art. 2A.060). Under Senate Bill 8 (2025), the sheriff of every county that keeps a jail has until December 1, 2026 to send ICE its 287(g) request and, once ICE agrees, enter the pact. The Sheriff's Office knows where things stand here.

1. Search the ICE Online Detainee Locator. The A-number gives the best results. The full name, date of birth and birth country can work too.
2. If the person doesn't appear, call the ICE Harlingen Field Office, 1717 Zoy Street, Harlingen, TX 78552, 956-389-7800. It covers this county.
3. One center that office sends people to is the Rio Grande Processing Center, 1001 San Rio Blvd, Laredo, TX 78046. For detainee information there, call 956-615-9720.

Once a felony sentence is handed down, the person often waits in Olmito or downtown for a while. Then the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) takes them to intake for sorting, and on to a unit that fits.

1. Open the TDCJ inmate search.
2. Type a last name plus at least one initial. You can also search by TDCJ or SID number instead.
3. Keep in mind it shows only people already inside a TDCJ unit, and it refreshes on working days.

Pick up any property left at the county jail within 30 days of the move. Our Texas state prisons page explains each unit.

Texas juvenile court covers kids who were 10, 16 or any age between when the offense happened. From age 17, the adult courts take over (FC 51.02(2)). San Benito's Darrell B. Hester Juvenile Justice Center holds detained youth, 956-361-4603.

• A parent or guardian must hear from police promptly (FC 52.02).
• Detention gets a judge's review by working day two. A youth taken in late in the week, on Friday or Saturday, gets it on the first working day (FC 54.01).
• Juvenile Probation, 2310 US-77 Bus., San Benito, TX 78586, 956-399-3075, can tell you when the hearing is.

For a youth, Juvenile Probation is the best place to ask, not the adult jail.

The arrest paperwork names the agency. If you don't have it, start with the Sheriff's dispatch desk. Here are the agencies that police the county:

County agencies

• Sheriff's Office dispatch: 7300 Old Alice Road, Olmito, TX 78575, 956-554-6700
• Constable Precinct 1: 505 Hwy. 100, Port Isabel, TX 78578, 956-943-6757
• Constable Precinct 2: 835 E. Levee St., Brownsville, TX 78520, 956-544-0859
• Constable Precinct 3: 1390 W. Expressway 83, San Benito, TX 78586, 956-361-8228
• Constable Precinct 4: 745 W. Ocean Boulevard, Los Fresnos, TX 78566, 956-233-6156
• Constable Precinct 5: 3302 Wilson Rd., Harlingen, TX 78550, 956-427-8052

City police

• Harlingen Police Department: through City Hall, 118 E. Tyler Ave., Harlingen, TX 78550, 956-216-5000. City jail: 956-216-5465.
• Brownsville Police Department: for the right line, call the Sheriff's dispatch number above.
• Other towns: ask Sheriff's dispatch which agency covers the town and how to reach it.

Those other towns include San Benito and Los Fresnos. They also include Port Isabel, South Padre Island and Laguna Vista, plus La Feria, Rio Hondo, Rancho Viejo, Palm Valley, Primera, Combes, Santa Rosa, Indian Lake, Los Indios and Bayview.

Troopers with DPS, the Texas Department of Public Safety, patrol here as well. If a trooper made the arrest, Sheriff's dispatch can tell you where the person was booked.