Joe Biden is shutting the largest ICE detention center for migrants, despite the 7.4 million being held there awaiting U.S. court hearings.
South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, about 75 miles southwest of San Antonio, can hold up to 2,400 migrants. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said it will replace the facility with 1,600 new beds at other centers in the region.
A news outlet spoke to former ICE field office director John Fabbricatore who argued that the move is not just a “lapse in judgment, but a deliberate act of amnesty through inaction.” He said the shutdown is a way to demonstrate that Biden’s executive order against most migrants seeking asylum is “nothing more than political theater aimed at appeasing certain voter bases rather than addressing the true issues on hand.”
The process is as follows: ICE detains migrants who cross the border and they are to remain in the camp while officials screen them to determine if they can be released into the US pending court hearings.
The center opened during the Obama administration and was first used to hold families. At least 7.4 million illegal immigrants in the US are being “tracked” reports one news outlet.
ICE acting director Patrick J. Lechleitner said that the closure “will provide an overall increase in bedspace and operate at or above the FY24 appropriated 41,500 minimum bed requirement while maximizing removal flights.”
“We continue to evaluate contracts to ensure we are financially responsible and can increase removal flights and detention bed space capacity to support the dynamic immigration landscape while operating within the budget provided by Congress,” he said.
Any new asylum restrictions will remain on pause only until illegal entries drop below an average of 1,500 per day for seven days. While the order has led to a decrease in the number of migrants crossing, it still falls far short than that level.
