CoreCivic, a private prison company, has announced a new agreement to reopen the South Texas Family Detention Center in Dilley, Texas, to house immigrant families for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The facility, which was sued during the Obama and Trump administrations, had been phased out under President Biden in 2021. However, the need for more detention space due to increasing migrant arrivals has led to the facility’s reopening.
The center, designed to hold up to 2,400 people, will be used to detain families with children, reversing Biden’s policy of ending family detention. ICE had no facilities for families earlier this year, and the Dilley center will not accommodate up to 2,400 detainees under a contract lasting until March 2030.
The move follows a broader trend of increasing detention capacity, with CoreCivic also expanding its contracts at other facilities. The detention of immigrant families, which became controversial during the Trump administration due to family separations and mistreatment allegations, is now resuming. Additionally, CoreCivic’s new agreement follows ongoing pressures on ICE to increase deportation numbers amidst a growing backlog in immigration courts.
Despite criticism, private contractors like CoreCivic argue that their facilities offer more affordable options for detention. The shift could lead to more family detentions, including potentially mixed-status families, raising concerns about separations and the overall cost to the deportation process.
References:
Ainsley, Julia. “Trump administration preparing to restart immigrant family detention” NBC News. February 7, 2025.
Contreras, Russell. “Controversial immigrant family detention center in Texas to reopen” Axios. March 5, 2025.
Lee, Morgan. “Privately run immigration detention center that previously held families in Texas will reopen” The Associated Press. March 5, 2025.
