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Hidalgo County Jail

701 W El Cibolo Rd
Edinburg, TX 78541
(956) 381-7900 ‎

Interview with Sarah, Drew and Paul

JM: How long was your sentencing for?
Sarah: Probation for 4 years for my felonies, and 6 months for my misdeamors. If I violate my probatiom I will go to prison for 4 years with no good time.
Drew: I was sentenced to a five year differed probation
Paul: five years

JM: Did you spend time in a holding cell after your sentencing? If so, what was that like? If you didn't where did they they take you instead?
Sarah: The holding cell was awful, one of the worst I have seen. It was cold, there were way too many people in each one. The jail only had two for the women. We were not given a blanket and they didn't feed us. I was there almost a full day with no shower, no toothbrush, no nothing.
Drew: After my sentencing I was put back in the holding cell were I waited till all court was finished we ate sack lunch talked shit about cases listened to people lie
Paul: i was held in delta, which in my county is the holding cells for people that are waiting to catch chain up to a tdcj prison. These cells surprisingly are single cells with in and outs every hour. If u get stuck in your cell then you have to wait the hour to be let out. It was very lonely and being secluded really makes you think about alot of things. Other inmates constantly screaming so the inmates in other cells far away can hear them. very loud and noisy.

If you know somebody who will be spending time in the Hidalgo County Jail in southern Texas you probably have a few questions. Find information about the jail including interviews with ex-inmates of the jail.

Getting a long with other inmates
Because of the location of Hidalgo County (near the Mexico border) there are a lot of people in jail who speak Spanish. This can cause some problems. There are obvious communication issues, but even more than that there is a gang presence in the jail that strongly correlates to the different races serving time there.

The best advice given by a recent ex-inmate is that you should stay to yourself and just stay out of trouble.

Getting out of jail for good behavior
One odd thing about Hidalgo County Jail is that there doesn't seem to be any sort of program to allow inmates to get out early if they are on good behavior. This is very standard in most county jails across the United States. This helps the sheriff be able to offer inmates an incentive to follow the rules and generally keeps the jail safer.

Meals in Hidalgo County Jail
Food is never great in jail (depending on who you ask you usually get a response that it is either bad or terrible). One ex-inmate, however, did report that the oatmeal was pretty good because it was edible. If you know somebody on the outside willing to put some money on your "inmate books" you can order snacks and food through commissary. This will allow you to get Ramen noodles, chips, candy and other things that will help you replace a disgusting meal with a not-so-healthy one.

Calling people on the outside
In order to pass time behind bars it can really help to have a good link to the outside world. The problem with doing this is that phone calls from inside the jail are expensive. In fact, if you want to call a cell phone there are some carriers who won't even let you accept phone calls. Read more about how the phones work in Hidalgo County Jail.

Visitors to the Hidalgo County Jail
If people come to visit an inmate in the Hidalgo County Jail they can only do so on Saturday or Sunday. There are also some rules about when children can come - read more about the Hidalgo County Jail visitor policy. What it comes down to is your visitors should come as early as possible so they don't have to wait to long to see you.

Your visit will not seem very personal because there is a glass wall dividing you and you both speak through telephones. Not allowing any type of contact allows the jail to cut down on issues of smuggling contraband in.

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