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Webb County Detention Center — Laredo TX (CoreCivic)

Webb, TX FIPS 48479
unknown
Bed capacity
Operator: CoreCivic

Overview

The Webb County Detention Center in Laredo, Texas is a CoreCivic-operated ICE detention facility under a longstanding IGSA. Located on the I-35 corridor at the busiest commercial border crossing in the Western Hemisphere, it is a key node in the South Texas detention network.

Key Details

  • Address: 4702 Highway 359, Laredo, TX
  • Operator: CoreCivic
  • Contract type: IGSA (contract number 70CDCR18DIG000004)
  • Warden: Mario Garcia (in place since 1999)
  • ICE inspections: February 2025, February 2026

Strategic Context

Webb County sits at the intersection of I-35 (running north to San Antonio, Austin, Dallas) and the Mexico border. The Laredo Sector is one of the busiest CBP sectors, covering 171 river miles and ~110,000 square miles.

The county’s heatmap signal of 68 includes an ANC score of 3 — indicating heavy Alternatives to Detention contracting, likely through BI Incorporated (GEO subsidiary). Heavy ATD contracting often precedes physical detention bed expansion: contractors establish monitoring programs, flag people for non-compliance, then push for beds to house those caught. This is the “closed loop” precursor pattern.

2025-2026 Developments

  • Initial-custody node in a fatal removal pipeline: Randall Gamboa Esquivel, a 52-year-old Costa Rican who entered the US in good health in December 2024, was first held at the Webb County Detention Center in Laredo before transfer to Port Isabel SPC (Cameron County), where he deteriorated into a vegetative state (sepsis among ~10 diagnoses by July 2025). ICE deported him by air ambulance in September 2025; he died October 26, 2025. His family alleges medical negligence in ICE custody. Webb is where the chain began.
  • Expansion context: ACLU FOIA litigation revealed GEO, CoreCivic, and MTC sought to renew/expand ICE contracts at Laredo-area facilities (Rio Grande Processing Center, Laredo) as part of the 2025-2026 national push toward 100,000 beds.
  • SB 8 mandate: Webb County (pop. >100k) must enter a 287(g) agreement with ICE by Dec 1, 2026 under Texas SB 8, with the state AG empowered to sue non-compliant sheriffs — layering a state cooperation mandate on top of the existing CoreCivic IGSA footprint.
  • ICE inspection: Feb 3-5, 2026.

Regional Network

Webb County is part of a broader South Texas detention corridor:

  • South Texas ICE Processing Center (Pearsall, Frio County) — GEO Group, ~1,900 beds
  • Webb County Detention Center (Laredo) — CoreCivic
  • Rio Grande Valley facilities (Hidalgo/Cameron counties)
  • Uvalde/Del Rio area facilities

Sources

Edit Report issue County profile
Last updated: Jul 3, 2026