View source for South Texas Family Residential Center

{{Short description|Immigrant detention center in Dilley, Texas, USA}}
{{About|the Dilley TX facility|the nearby facility in Pearsall TX|South Texas Detention Facility}}
{{Infobox prison
| prison_name    = South Texas Family Residential Center
| image          =
| location       = 1925 W. [[Texas State Highway 85|Highway 85]]<br />[[Dilley, Texas]], Frio County<br />United States, 78017<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=http://www.cca.com/facilities/south-texas-family-residential-center|title=CCA|access-date=19 December 2014}}</ref>
| coordinates    = {{coord|28.659966|N|99.188996|W|type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| status         = Closed
| classification = Immigration detention facility
| capacity       = 2,400
| population     =
| populationdate =
| opened         = 2014
| closed         = 2024
| managed_by     = [[CoreCivic]] (known as CCA - Corrections Corporation of America)
| director       = Jose Rodriguez Jr.
| prisoners      =
}}
The '''South Texas Family Residential Center''' is the largest immigrant detention center in the United States. Opened in December 2014 in [[Dilley, Texas]], it has a capacity of 2,400 and is intended to detain mainly women and children from Central America.<ref name="auto1">{{cite news|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/south-texas-immigration-detention-center-set-to-open/|title=South Texas immigration detention center set to open|date=15 December 2014|work=CBS News|access-date=19 December 2014}}</ref>
On June 12, 2015, it was reported that the facility was holding 1,735 people, approximately 1,000 of whom were children.<ref name="LAT 2015-06-25">{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-dilley-detention-20150625-story.html|title=Immigrant families in detention: A look inside one holding center|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|first=Molly|last=Hennessy-Fiske|date=June 25, 2019|access-date=26 March 2019}}</ref>  In filings dated September 30, 2018, the operator stated that the property was 100% full. By April 2019,  there were 499 women and children in the facility.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.kqed.org/news/11740058/detention-beds-for-immigrant-families-nearly-empty-amid-surge-in-border-crossings|title=Detention Beds for Immigrant Families Nearly Empty Amid Surge in Border Crossings|last=Small|first=Julie|date=2019-04-13|website=KQED|language=en-us|access-date=2019-04-14|df=mdy-all}}</ref>
[[CoreCivic]], previously called "Corrections Corporation of America", is seeking a license to operate the facility as a General Residential Operation but litigation was brought by [[Texas RioGrande Legal Aid]] on behalf of Grassroots Leadership and the detainees themselves to block the licensing by the [[Texas Department of Family and Protective Services]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.texasobserver.org/immigrant-family-detention-license-hold/|title=Judge Halts Child Care License for Dilley Detention Center|date=2 June 2016|work=The Texas Observer|access-date=26 March 2019}}</ref>
[[U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement|U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)]] announced they will shut down the detention center on June 10, 2024. According to a memo from ICE, closing the costly facility will free up resources for more beds as the [[Presidency of Joe Biden|Biden administration]] begins implementing new border restrictions. <ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-06-10 |title=US to close costly Texas immigration detention center and reroute funds |url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/us-close-costly-texas-immigration-212935944.html |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=Yahoo News |language=en-US}}</ref>
==Location and description==
[[File:TXMap-doton-Dilley.PNG|thumbnail|left|Approximate location in [[Texas]]]]
The site is located approximately 100 miles north of the [[Rio Grande]] and 70 miles southwest of San Antonio, southwest of [[Dilley, Texas]], in Frio County.<ref name="auto1"/> The address is 1925 W. [[Texas State Highway 85|Highway 85]], Dilley, Texas, United States, zip code 78017.<ref name="auto"/>
The 50-acre site contains 80 small, tan-colored, two-bedroom, one-bathroom cottages in which the families will live. The cottages can house up to 8 people and contain bunk beds as well as baby cribs. They also have a flat-screen television. There is a kitchen, but cooking is not allowed in order to prevent fires. The cottages are connected by dirt roads.
There are also recreational and medical facilities, a school, trailer classrooms, a library, a basketball court, playgrounds, and email access. A cafeteria is open for 12 hours a day, but snacks can be obtained at any hour.<ref name="auto1"/>
The site was formerly a camp used by oilfield workers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2014/12/16/largest-detention-center-in-u-s-opens.html|title=Largest Detention Center in U.S. Opens|work=The Daily Beast|access-date=19 December 2014}}</ref>
==Detainees==
The South Texas Family Residential Center was at first only able to accommodate 480 people when the first group of residents arrive in December 2014 from a Border Patrol training camp located in [[Artesia, New Mexico]]. The capacity was 2,400 residents by May 2014 with a staff of 600. It was will eventually planned to have a capacity of 3,000.<ref name="auto1"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.southtexasfamilycenter.com/About|title=South Texas Family Residential Center - About the Center|access-date=19 December 2014}}</ref> It is intended to detain mostly women and children from Central America.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-garbus-asylum-women-honduras-central-america-20190324-story.html|title=Fleeing threats to her children, a Honduran woman now faces a tough fight for asylum|last=Garbus|first=Martin|date=March 24, 2019|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=26 March 2019}}</ref>
==Administration==
The facility opened in 2014 and is operated mainly by [[CoreCivic]] and [[Target Hospitality]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-texas-immigration-idUSKBN0JT2H320141215|title=Largest family detention center for immigrants opens in Texas|work=Reuters|access-date=19 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.kens5.com/story/news/local/2014/12/15/immigration-homeland-security-dilley-san-antonio/20455429/|title=New residential immigration center makes history|author=Anusha Ghosh Roy|date=15 December 2014|access-date=19 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Editor |first=Joshua Fineman, SA News |date=2024-06-10 |title=Target Hospitality plunges amid report Biden plans to close Dilley detention center {{!}} Seeking Alpha |url=https://seekingalpha.com/news/4114639-target-hospitality-plunges-amid-report-biden-plans-to-close-dilley-migrant-detention-center |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=seekingalpha.com |language=en}}</ref> On June 10, 2024 CoreCivic received a notification from ICE stating their intention to terminate their contract as they move to close the facility due to high costs.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Inc |first=CoreCivic |date=2024-06-10 |title=CoreCivic Receives Termination Notice From U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement At South Texas Family Residential Center |url=https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2024/06/10/2896433/0/en/CoreCivic-Receives-Termination-Notice-From-U-S-Immigration-and-Customs-Enforcement-At-South-Texas-Family-Residential-Center.html |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=GlobeNewswire News Room |language=en}}</ref>
Local sources indicated the United States Government pays approximately $19 million monthly to operate the facility.
The operating cost of the facility will be $296 per person per day according to a statement made to reporters by an official at [[Immigration and Customs Enforcement]].
The warden is Janice Killian.
==See also==
*[[Willacy County Correctional Center]] - another major detention center in south [[Texas]] that is now closed due to a 2015 riot
*[[Target Hospitality]] - Temporary housing company
*[[CoreCivic]] - U.S. prison-operating company
*[[U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement]] - United States of America federal law enforcement agency
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* [http://www.southtexasfamilycenter.com/ www.southtexasfamilycenter.com]
* [http://www.cca.com/facilities/south-texas-family-residential-center www.cca.com/facilities/south-texas-family-residential-center]
{{Incarceration}}
{{Immigration to the United States}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:South Texas Family Residential Center}}
[[Category:Immigration detention centers and prisons in the United States]]
[[Category:Prisons in Texas]]
[[Category:Private prisons in the United States]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Frio County, Texas]]
[[Category:2014 establishments in Texas]]
[[Category:CoreCivic]]