Merve Berker
06 March 2025•Update: 06 March 2025
ANKARA
The Trump administration has decided to reopen the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, once again detaining migrant families facing deportation, according to CoreCivic, the private prison contractor operating the facility.
CoreCivic announced Wednesday that it reached an agreement with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to reactivate the center, which can house up to 2,400 parents and children, according to the Washington Post. The contract will run until March 2030.
The move marks a shift from President Joe Biden’s 2021 policy of ending family detention. Immigration advocates strongly oppose the practice, calling it inhumane.
“ICE’s plans to resume operations at this facility, known for neglect and abuse of families and children, are the start of another dark chapter in this nation’s treatment of immigrants,” said Eunice Cho, senior attorney at the National Prison Project of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
Reopening the Dilley facility aligns with Trump’s broader immigration agenda. He has pledged to carry out “the largest deportation operation in American history,” and urged Congress to allocate resources for expanded detention.
Despite these ambitions, ICE has limited detention capacity, making large-scale deportations difficult without additional funding.
CoreCivic has amended its agreement with ICE and signed a new lease with the facility’s owner, Target Hospitality Corporation. The company is also adding nearly 800 new detention beds across multiple states, signaling further expansion in the private detention industry.
The facility's reopening will have economic implications for Dilley, a small city of fewer than 5,000 residents, where the center previously provided hundreds of jobs.
Supporters argue that family detention deters illegal border crossings. However, critics highlight its high costs and ineffectiveness, noting that a 2015 court ruling limits how long children can be held in unlicensed facilities, leading to many families being released rather than deported.
Trump officials maintain that the goal is to deport families together rather than release them into the US.
