Jefferson County Justice Center

Jefferson County Justice Center Information

An Inside Look at the Jefferson County Justice Center

The Jefferson County Justice Center (JCJC), located in Mount Vernon, Illinois, is a detention facility that began housing detainees from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in April 2009. With a capacity to hold 249 individuals, including 110 ICE detainees, the JCJC provides essential services to inmates while also aiming to ensure compliance with ICE policies and detention standards.

Overview of JCJC Operations and Facilities

The JCJC is owned by Jefferson County but operated by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office under an Intergovernmental Service Agreement (IGSA) with ICE. The average daily population of detainees is around 106, with an average stay of approximately 10 days. 

The Sheriff oversees operations at the JCJC, with a Jail Administrator and Lieutenants making up the supervisory staff. The facility provides all necessary services for detainees, including food, medical care, recreation opportunities, and access to legal resources. 

Food service is handled by the company Aramark, while medical care is provided by JCJC staff. The facility holds no external accreditations currently. Oversight and responsibility for ensuring compliance with ICE policies and National Detention Standards (NDS) lies with the ICE Field Office Director in Chicago, Illinois.

Inmate Housing and Services 

Detainees at the JCJC are housed based on their category, length of sentence, and criminal history. The facility holds pre-trial detainees and those serving short sentences of up to two years for non-violent crimes. It also temporarily holds parole and probation violators, witnesses, and persons of interest.

In addition to board and food, the JCJC provides inmates with access to indoor recreation, a law library, and grievance procedures. The indoor recreation program lacks proper staffing oversight, an issue identified in past inspections. The law library has four computers with LexisNexis software for research. While facility rules on library access are in place, they are not visibly posted. 

The grievance process adheres to established timelines, although no ICE detainee filed an official grievance in the year prior to the June 2012 inspection.

Visitation Policies and Privileges

Family and friends of inmates can schedule visits from Monday to Friday between 7:30am to 9:00pm and on weekends from 7:30am to 2:30pm. Visitors must place incarcerated individuals on their approved visitation list to gain entry, which can have up to 5 approved visitors excluding minors. 

Inmates are also provided with collect call phones to keep in contact with loved ones. Money can be deposited into commissary accounts by visitors during in-person visits, or remotely via phone or online.

Recent Compliance Inspection Findings 

In June 2012, the Office of Detention Oversight (ODO) conducted a thorough Compliance Inspection, reviewing 17 different detention standards. ODO found 9 standards to be fully compliant, but identified deficiencies in 8 others.

While the ODO found the JCJC to be generally well-managed, it noted short-staffing in the booking area and suggested additional personnel. It also pointed out that Spanish versions of the detainee handbook were unavailable due to revisions in progress. 

Other deficiencies were found in recreational programming, library access posting requirements, and concerns over medical care staffing and timeliness. However, the facility's sanitation, grievance system, and food services were found satisfactory.

ODO provided a detailed report of these findings and recommendations for corrective action moving forward. Continued oversight and inspections will be key to ensuring improved compliance and the welfare of detainees.

Final Thoughts

The Jefferson County Justice Center provides essential services to its detainees while working to adhere to federal policies and standards. Operations run smoothly under the Sheriff's supervision, and inmates have access to programs, resources, and visitation privileges. 

While recent inspections identified areas needing improvement, these deficiencies are not severe. With adequate staffing, updated policies, and diligent oversight, the JCJC can continue its mission of securely and humanely housing detainees awaiting trial or serving short county sentences.

Frequently Asked Questions

### What are the visitation hours at JCJC?

Visitation hours are Monday-Friday from 7:30am to 9:00pm and weekends from 7:30am to 2:30pm. Visits must be scheduled in advance. 

### Can detainees make phone calls? 

Yes, collect call phones are provided for detainees to contact family and friends.

### How long can someone be detained at JCJC?

The average detainee stay is around 10 days. The JCJC houses pre-trial and short-term inmates with sentences of up to 2 years.

### What services are provided to inmates?

The JCJC provides food, recreation, medical care, law library access, and grievance procedures. Oversight is conducted by ICE and the Sheriff's Office.

### How do I send money to a detainee in Jefferson County Justice Center?

You can deposit money into a detainee's account by visiting the facility and making a cash deposit, calling to make a phone credit card payment, or using the online deposit system. Make sure you have the detainee's full name and identification number.

Phone: 618-244-8015

Physical Address:
Jefferson County Justice Center
911 Casey Ave
Mount Vernon, IL 62864

Mailing Address (personal mail):
Inmate's Full Name & A-Number
Jefferson County Justice Center
911 Casey Avenue
Mt Vernon, IL 62864

Other Jails and Prisons

Search Jefferson County Justice Center Inmates

Search Jefferson County Justice Center Inmates

How Do You Find Someone in the Jefferson County Justice Center?

How to Find Someone in the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Detainee Locator

When someone that is not a US Citizen gets arrested in the United States, and they are here illegally, depending on what state or city they are arrested in, the person may be turned over to ICE. 

Many states such as New York and California, as well as hundreds of US cities, have declared themselves 'sanctuary cities' and do not turn over foreigners here illegally, even if they are committing crimes in their jurisdiction.

However, when an alien here illegally is turned over to ICE, and sent to one of the over 100 Immigration Detention Centers in the United States, the only way to try and locate where they are being detained is using the Online Detainee Locator System.


There are two ways to search for an ICE Detainee:

You can look them up using their assigned A-Number.

  • An A-Number is a 9-digit number that either looks like this: A-123456789, or like this 123-456-789. This is required if you do not know their name.
    It is also called a Registration Number when on a visa, or a USCIS# when on a Green Card.
    If for whatever reason the A-Number you have does not have 9-digits, you need to add 0s (zeroes) to the front of the number until the number has 9-digits.

    That number might then look like this:  001234567.


You can also try and look them up by using their name.

  • In order for this to be effective, you need to have the exact name that is either on their paperwork, or the the name with the exact spelling that they gave ICE. This is required.
  • You also need to know the country of their birth, or the country of their birth that they gave ICE. This is required.
  • Knowing their Date of Birth is helpful but not required to find them in the system.


Important things to know about using the ICE Detainee Locator

  • You do not need to set up an account to use the Detainee Locator System.
  • A-Number stands for 'Alien Registration Number'.
  • The System does not have information on all detainees in custody.
  • Juvenile names are NOT in the System.
  • The Detainee Locator System is updated every 8 hours, sometimes sooner.
  • If the detainee is being moved to a new facility, the new location will not be shown until they have arrived and are processed. 
  • No warnings or prior notice are given in advance of a detainee being moved.
  • While being transferred to a different facility they may still be shown online as being in the original facility.
  • If you are planning a visit, always call before you come to confirm the detainee is still at the facility and has not been moved.
  • To visit a detainee you must have some type of government issued photo ID, or other identification when photo identification is unavailable for religious reasons.
  • If you are unable to find the detainee using the System, contact the ICE Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) in the area where you believe the person's immigration case was initiated or the Detainee Reporting and Information Line (DRIL) at 888-351-4024.

Pamphlets in various languages with Instructions on how to use the Online Detainee Locator System:

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Directions / Map to the Jefferson County Justice Center
Understanding US Immigration and Customs Enforcement

What is an ICE Detention Center?

Men, women, and children that are in the United States illegally and are apprehended by the US Border Patrol or ICE will most likely be placed in removal proceedings and may be detained in one of the more than 200 jails and detention centers that make up ICE’s detention system.

Many of the illegal immigrants that are detained are held in county and local jails that contract with ICE to detain immigrants. The rest are held in dedicated immigration detention facilities run by ICE or contracted to private prison corporations, including family detention centers that hold mothers and children.

What Determines if an Illegal Immigrant gets Detained?

ICE will typically detain an immigrant because DHS (Homeland Security) believes that an illegal immigrant is either a “flight risk” and may move to another location within the U.S. or that they pose a public safety threat. Detaining the person allows the government to guarantee that the person will show up for their hearing before an Immigration Court.

Some of the reasons that causes an illegal immigrant to get arrested and held in detention prior to their day in court is as follows:

The illegal immigrant has:

  • committed a crime, or multiple crimes
  • arrived at the border without a visa prior to formally applying for asylum or refugee status
  • an outstanding removal (deportation) order on record, either pending or past due, or
  • missed prior immigration hearing dates.

 

How do you find someone that is in an ICE Detention Center?

The first step to finding out if an illegal immigrant is in ICE or DHS custody is by using the ICE Detainee Locator.

It’s easier to find the person if you have an Alien Number (A#), if one exists. A green card or work permit will show this number. If you don’t have an A# the person is much more difficult to locate.

The information you will need is as follows:

  • the person’s full name as it appears in the ICE System. The exact spelling and the order of how the name is listed is required.
  • the person’s date of birth
  • the person’s country of birth

If you are having difficulty, try different spellings and the order of how the name is listed.

If the illegal immigrant was only recently detained, the ICE Detainee Locator may not be updated with the latest information. Keep in mind that ICE does not give information (online or over the phone) for people under 18 years of age. In such cases, you can only get information on them from the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations field office nearest you.

If the person you are looking for is not in an ICE Detention Center, they may have been taken to a local jail that contracts with ICE, so contact their local City and County Jail, all which can be found here.

Another option, short of the expense of hiring an Immigration Lawyer, is to go to this website and use their online form to get their help.

Once an illegal immigrant is located and you find out the facility where they are being held you need to find out the Deportation Officer that has been assigned to their case. The Officer can tell you how to call or visit the detainee, or pay for the detainee to be able to call you, or how you can send any needed items such as clothing, prescriptions, etc.

The last option, and the most expensive, is to hire an experienced immigration attorney to assist you in tracking down the Deportation Officer. If the person being detained requires specific medical care, an attorney can ensure that they receive that care.

If the detained illegal immigrant has been deported from America previously or has an outstanding removal order - in which case they have no right to see an immigration judge - they can be removed within a few days, or even hours, of the initial arrest.

Even if the government does not immediately remove the person, it is possible that they can be moved around to different Detention Centers. There is never a warning that a person is being moved around and during the transfer there is a complete blackout of any information.

How long are people held in ICE Immigration Detention Centers?

The time that an illegal immigrant is held in an ICE Detention Center can vary. It all depends on several factors such as the individual’s personal situation, criminal record, the severity of the crime they are being charged with, previous deportations and the current caseload that the Detention Center is dealing with.

This image portrays the most recent data available on the time a detained illegal immigrant remains in custody before their release and/or deportation.

Can you visit someone in ICE Detention Centers?

The short answer is yes. The person visiting an illegal immigrant in an ICE Detention Center must be lawfully present in the United States. In other words the visitor must have some form of currently valid immigration status at the time of the visit. A detention center or jail will not allow the visit unless visitor can show valid I.D. and offer proof that they are lawfully in the United States.

If you want to become a volunteer that visits illegal immigrants in order to offer emotional support, it may be possible. You can join one of these visitation networks by going here and contacting the network in your area.

What crimes can cause an illegal immigrant to be deported?

(The following information comes from Nolo.com, a trusted legal resource)

  • Conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude (see list). This includes any attempt or conspiracy to commit such a crime. It does not include crimes that were committed that the illegal immigrant committed when they were under the age of 18 years, however the person must have been released from jail more than five years before applying for a visa or other immigration benefit. It also does not include crimes for which the maximum penalty did not exceed one year in prison and the person was not, in fact, sentenced to more than six months in prison.
  • Conviction or admission of a controlled substance violation, whether under U.S. or foreign law. This includes any conspiracy to commit such a crime.
  • Convictions for two or more crimes (other than purely political ones) for which the prison sentences totaled at least five years. This multiple-offense ground of inadmissibility applies whether or not the convictions came from a single trial and whether or not the offenses arose from a single scheme of misconduct or involved moral turpitude.
  • Conviction of or participation in (according to the reasonable belief of the U.S. government) controlled substance trafficking. This includes anyone who knowingly aided, abetted, assisted, conspired, or colluded in illicit drug trafficking. It also includes the spouse, son, or daughter of the inadmissible applicant if that person has, within the last five years, received any financial or other benefit from the illicit activities, and knew or reasonably should have known where the money or benefit came from.
  • Having the purpose of engaging in prostitution or commercialized vice upon coming to the United States, or a history, within the previous ten years, of having engaged in prostitution.
  • Procurement or attempted procurement or importation of prostitutes, directly or indirectly, or receipt of proceeds of prostitution, any of which occurred within the previous ten years.
  • Assertion of immunity from prosecution after committing a serious criminal offense in the U.S., if the person was thus able to depart the U.S. and has not since submitted fully to the jurisdiction of the relevant U.S. Court.
  • Commission of particularly severe violations of religious freedom while serving as a foreign government official.
  • Commission of or conspiracy to commit human trafficking offenses, within or outside the U.S., or being a knowing aider, abettor, assister, conspirator, or colluder with such a trafficker according to the knowledge or reasonable belief of the U.S. government. Also inadmissible are the spouse, son, or daughter the applicant if they, within the previous five years (but when older than children), received financial or other benefits from the illicit activity and knew or reasonably should have known that the money or other benefit came from the illicit activity.
  • Conviction of an aggravated felony, if the person was removed from the U.S. and seeks to return (this ground of inadmissibility lasts for 20 years)
  • Seeking to enter the U.S. to engage in money laundering, or a history of having laundered money, or having been (according to the knowledge of the U.S. government) a knowing aider, abettor, assister, conspirator, or colluder with money launderers.

These are the straightforward crimes that are mentioned in the immigration law. The statute also lists a number of security violations, such as involvement in espionage, sabotage, terrorism, Nazi persecution, totalitarian parties, and so forth.

Once an illegal immigrant is deported, how long before they can come back to the United States?

If an illegal immigrant has a deportation or removal order in their immigration file, it's possible that they won’t be allowed to enter the U.S. for five, ten, or even 20 years.

The applicable law comes from Section 212 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (I.N.A.).

Five-Year Ban: If they were summarily removed or deported upon arrival at a U.S. port of entry because they were found inadmissible, or if they came to the U.S. but were immediately put into removal proceedings and then removed or deported, they may be ineligible to return to the U.S. for five years. The five-year ban also applies if they failed to show up for their removal hearing in the United States.

Ten-Year Ban: If a ‘removal order’ was issued at the conclusion of their removal hearing in Immigration Court, they may not be able to return for ten years after their removal or departure.

Twenty-Year Ban: If they were convicted of an aggravated felony or have received more than one order of removal, they are barred from returning to the U.S. for 20 years. And if they entered without permission after having been removed, or illegally reentered the U.S. after having previously been in the U.S. unlawfully for more than one year, they may be barred from entering the United States for 20 years or permanently.

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This facility, known as "Jefferson County Justice Center" is also known as ICE Detention Facility, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.