DILLEY, TEXAS — President Trump reopened the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas in 2025, leading to the detention of more than 6,300 children under 18 during his second term. Nearly half of those children were held at the Dilley facility, with 97% having no criminal record.
The facility opened in 2014 under President Obama to hold migrant families caught crossing the southern border illegally. President Biden closed it a decade later. In 2025, it reopened under a new $180 million annual contract with CoreCivic. The White House 2027 budget proposal includes plans to add 30,000 more beds in family detention centers nationwide.
Joel Andre, his sister Estafania, and their mother Carine—a Congolese activist who fled government brutality—were detained at Dilley for almost four months before being released in March. Their 19-year-old sister, Olivia, remained detained for over five months before reuniting with the family in Portland, Maine. The family had arrived in the U.S. in 2022, passed vetting, complied with all immigration check-ins, and attended every appointment before a February 2025 deportation order led to their detention after being denied entry to Canada.
During a visit to Dilley, U.S. Representative Joaquin Castro said families reported severe deficiencies. "They told us that there are three kids who are under the age of three. We met with a 15-year old boy, he said that he hasn't eaten in days because he doesn't feel like eating, he's depressed," Castro said. He added, "It's the only place I can think of in America where we imprison young children who have done absolutely nothing wrong. Instead of treating them like asylum seekers who were vetted to come into the country, they're treating them like criminals."
Castro also said, "I think it's meant to send a very ugly message, that we don't want you here, that you're not welcome." He added, "Yeah, I'm surprised that we let them get away with this. I'm surprised that we have not taken a stronger stand and said, when you've got a group of people, including kids, that have committed no crime, we're not gonna put up with that, we are going to be able to see what's going on."
Elora Mukherjee, director of the Immigrants Rights Clinic at Columbia University, stated, "It is a series of trailers. Families and children alike consistently report that they do not have access to sufficient clean drinking water, that they found live worms, bugs and mold in their meals. The lights are on 24/7, making it really difficult for everyone detained there to sleep." She also said, "Americans don't yet know what is happening at the Family Detention Center in Dilley. And once more people know, people will feel motivated to speak out against the abuses there."
The Department of Homeland Security denied allegations of poor conditions, stating, "Another day and another hoax about the South Texas Family Residential Center... Any claim that there are subprime conditions at ICE detention facilities is FALSE. All detainees are provided with proper meals, quality water, blankets, medical treatment." CoreCivic also disputed the claims, saying the described conditions "do not reflect the operations, standards or care provided at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center."