Dolph Briscoe Unit

A general-population men's prison near Dilley in Frio County, South Texas, with vocational and community-college programs.

Overview

The Dolph Briscoe Unit is a general-population men’s prison near Dilley, in Frio County, in South Texas. It opened in January 1992 and TDCJ lists its capacity at about 1,216 beds. The unit sits about a quarter mile west of IH-35 on Highway 85, on the corridor between San Antonio and Laredo.

Custody at Briscoe spans the G1, G2, and G4 levels, so the visiting format follows the incarcerated person’s classification rather than one unit-wide rule.

What Makes Briscoe Unit Different

• A working agricultural unit — security horses and canines, edible crops, and the Texas Gleaning Project, alongside unit maintenance operations
• Education and vocational training include ABE, GED, special education, ESL, construction carpentry, electrical trades, landscape design, and cognitive intervention, plus college courses offered through Southwest Texas Junior College
• A faith-based dormitory, peer education, chaplaincy, the GO KIDS Initiative, and community work projects with local agencies
• Medical care is managed by UTMB and includes single-level ambulatory medical and dental services, CPAP housing, telemedicine, and digital medical services

Visiting Hours and Procedures

The statewide rules above — approval, ID, prohibited items, and dress code — apply at the Dolph Briscoe Unit. What follows is specific to this unit.

Briscoe houses a G1, G2, and G4 custody mix, so one posted schedule does not mean one visiting experience. General-population housing typically uses standard contact visiting, while more restrictive housing can mean different room assignments or non-contact procedures on the same weekend. The format follows the incarcerated person’s classification, so two families arriving the same morning may have different experiences.

Getting There and Parking

Briscoe is in Frio County near Dilley, on the IH-35 corridor between San Antonio and Laredo. The unit sits about a quarter mile west of IH-35 on Highway 85, so the final approach leaves the interstate for a short local stretch.

Phones, Mail, and Video

Contact has a sequence to it. A phone number must be on the incarcerated person’s approved contact list before calls can connect, and after intake or a transfer that approval can take time to process. Calls are placed by the incarcerated person on TDCJ’s Securus phone system; a prison cannot be called into. Account setup, rates, and video options are covered in Phone & Video Calls.

Nearby Services

Dilley is a small town with limited commercial services. The IH-35 corridor between San Antonio and Laredo carries the nearest concentrations of gas, food, lodging, and groceries, with more options in Dilley and Pearsall toward San Antonio. Travelers coming from the south or far away generally find the fullest range of services in the San Antonio area.

For support beyond the unit itself, the Texas Inmate Families Association is a statewide nonprofit focused on education, advocacy, and prison-system navigation resources for families with someone in TDCJ custody.

Learn More

For detailed information about visiting and communicating with someone at a Texas state prison:

• Visiting in Texas — TDCJ approval process, dress code, scheduling
• Mail & Packages — what you can send and what gets rejected
• Phone & Video Calls — Securus accounts, call costs, video visits
• Sending Money — how to add funds to a TDCJ trust account
• Medical & Mental Health — healthcare in TDCJ facilities
• Transfers — what happens during transfers