CoreCivic (known as CCA - Corrections Corporation of America)
Director
Jose Rodriguez Jr.
The South Texas Family Residential Center is an immigrant detention center in Dilley, Texas. First opened in December 2014, it has a capacity of 2,400 and is intended to detain mainly women and children from Central America.[2]United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) closed the detention center in June 2024, citing cost savings to add more beds in other facilities as the Biden administration implemented new border restrictions.[3]
In 2025, CoreCivic announced a new contract with ICE to reopen the facility as the Dilley Immigration Processing Center.[4] ICE awarded the CoreCivic and Target Hospitality a 5-year contract in 2025, aiming to immediately resume operations.[5] CoreCivic receives $160 million annually to operate the facility.[6] As of 2025, the facility was exceeded in total capacity and average daily population by some other detention centers, including Camp East Montana.[7]
A 2025 ICE planning document described the possible construction of a 250-person "soft-sided" detention center at the site.[8]
The site is located approximately 100 miles (160km) north of the Rio Grande and 70 miles (110km) southwest of San Antonio, southwest of Dilley, Texas, in Frio County.[2] The address is 1925 W. Highway 85, Dilley, Texas, United States, zip code 78017.[1]
The 50-acre site (20ha) contains 80 small, tan-colored, two-bedroom, one-bathroom cottages for the families. The cottages can house up to eight 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.[2]
The site was formerly a camp used by oilfield workers.[9]
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. Capacity expanded over the following months as construction and staffing continued, reaching up to 2,400 residents by mid-2015, with a staff of around 600. [2][10] It is intended to detain mostly women and children from Central America.[11]
On June 12, 2015, it was reported that the facility was holding 1,735 people, approximately 1,000 of whom were children.[12]CoreCivic, previously called "Corrections Corporation of America", sought a license in 2016 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.[13] 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.[14]
In January 2026, detained five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father were brought to the facility. The child's detention had attracted media attention and public outrage after photos of the child being detained in a bunny hat and Spider-man backpack circulated.[15] On January 24, dozens of detained children staged a demonstration in the detention center, shouting "Libertad" (Spanish for "Freedom").[16]
Conejo Ramos's detention brought widespread public attention to the unsanitary conditions of the facility. His health deteriorated quickly due to a lack of medical care and unsafe food and water.[17] A judge ordered his release along with his father, and the same weekend that they were released, ICE locked down the facility and announced that cases of measles were spreading there.[18]
Administration
The facility opened in 2014 and is operated mainly by CoreCivic and Target Hospitality.[19][20][21] 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.[22]
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