South Texas migrant family detention center will reopen | FOX 7 Austin

South Texas migrant family detention center will reopen

DILLEY, TEXAS - July 13, 2016: A view of the wall of the South Texas Residential Facility entrance from the parking lot. CREDIT: Ilana Panich-Linsman for The Washington Post via Getty Images

A privately-owned South Texas immigration detention center that once housed migrant families is set to reopen.

What we know:

The South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas has the capacity to hold 2,400 people. It was used to house migrant families before being shut down by President Joe Biden in 2024.

Private prison company CoreCivic announced they'd reached an agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the city of Dilley in a release Wednesday.

In a release, CoreCivic called the facility "purpose-built for ICE in 2014 to provide an appropriate setting for a family population." Seeming to indicate the facility would again house detained families.

The backstory:

The facility housed families during the Obama and first Trump administrations before the practice of detaining families was stopped during the Biden presidency.

READ MORE: Investigation of 8-year-old's death finds poor medical care at border facilities

The facility was managed by CoreCivic from 2014-2024.

What we don't know:

CoreCivic did not say when it expected to resume operations at the facility, but the company's president said they would begin accepting transfer requests from employees at other facilities.

"We are offering our staff the opportunity to transfer to the Dilley Facility and expect many who accept transfer opportunities will be professionals who previously provided services at the facility prior to its closure last year, expediting the activation process," CoreCivic President Patrick Swindle said. "We are also pleased to again work with Target, which has been a fantastic partner since our relationship began in 2014."

The company says it expects to make around $180 million per year from operating the facility. 

The contract is through March 2030.

The Source: Information on the reopening of the Dilley facility comes from an investors' release from CoreCivic. Background information comes from the Associated Press.

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