Garza East Unit

Bee County TDCJ transfer and intake unit on the Chase Field complex near Beeville, with short stays and weekend visitation.

Overview

The Garza East Unit is a TDCJ prison near Beeville in Bee County, South Texas. It opened in February 1994 and is listed by TDCJ at about 1,928 beds. The unit carries a transfer and intake role, and its population includes Transient custody — people moving through the system on the way to a longer-term assignment.

Two facts shape almost everything about visiting here: the unit’s transfer role, which means stays can be short, and its location on the shared Chase Field complex, where a second unit with a nearly identical name operates next door.

What Makes Garza East Different

• Functions as a transfer and intake unit — many people are held only briefly before being reassigned, so an assignment can change between the time a visit is planned and the visit date
• Shares the Chase Field complex near Beeville with the separate Garza West Unit; the two are distinct facilities with their own staff and visitation, and the TDCJ inmate locator shows which unit a person is assigned to
• Houses a mixed custody population — G1-G2 general population, Outside Trusty, and Transient — so the visiting format follows the incarcerated person’s classification rather than one unit-wide rule

Visiting Hours and Procedures

The statewide rules above — approval, ID, prohibited items, and dress code — apply at Garza East. What follows is specific to this unit.

Because Garza East is a transfer and intake unit, the most important step happens before the drive: confirm on the TDCJ inmate locator that the person is still assigned here. People move through transfer units on relatively short timelines, and a transfer can take effect with little notice, so an assignment confirmed a week ago may not hold on the visiting day.

The unit’s custody mix is the other variable. General-population housing typically uses standard contact visiting, while Transient status and 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

Garza East is on the Chase Field complex near Beeville, in Bee County in South Texas. A private vehicle is required; there is no fixed-route bus to the unit.

Beeville is the nearest service center for gas, food, groceries, and lodging. Services thin out on the approach to the complex, so families often handle fuel and supplies in town before arriving.

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 — a delay that is common at a transfer unit. 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.

Mail should be addressed with the incarcerated person’s full committed name and TDCJ number. Because people move through transfer units quickly, mail sent to Garza East may arrive after the person has been reassigned; confirming the current unit on the TDCJ inmate locator before sending reduces the chance of a return or delay. What can be sent and what gets rejected is covered in Mail & Packages.

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