Blaze News investigates: Biden-Harris closure of largest ICE detention center affirms admin’s commitment to open border chaos

In recent months, the Biden administration has endeavored to rebrand its approach to the border crisis that has led to record-breaking illegal crossings — a top-of-mind concern for the majority of voters heading into the November election.

Amid mounting criticism over its handling of the wave of unlawful entries, the White House vowed earlier this year to deploy more resources to curb the problem and announced a “border-crackdown” executive order in June.

While the order paid lip service to the cause of tough border enforcement, it has since proven to be essentially toothless due to its long list of exceptions, such as still allowing illegal aliens into the U.S. who have scheduled an appointment to request asylum, those experiencing medical emergencies, and victims of a "severe form" of trafficking.

‘The bottom line is that the Biden Administration doesn't like deterrence, detention, or deportation and does as little as possible of all three.’

Despite the Biden administration’s recent attempts to appear tough on the immigration crisis, the administration recently terminated its contract with the company that operates Immigration and Customs Enforcement's South Texas Family Residential Center, a detainment facility in Dilley, Texas. This decision means that the facility, which is the largest in the nation, will close within the next month.

The notification to cancel the contract with CoreCivic, a firm managing numerous prisons nationwide, came just days after Biden announced the executive action to "secure the border." The Biden-Harris administration appears to be talking out of both sides of its mouth, stating it intends to shut down America’s borders while simultaneously taking steps to make detaining illegal immigrants who unlawfully cross into the country even more challenging.

Biden-Harris admin’s aversion to detainment leads to avoidable tragedy

Jocelyn Nungaray, a 12-year-old girl from Houston, Texas, was murdered by two illegal immigrants on June 17. The child was brutally strangled and sexually assaulted before the Venezuelan nationals placed her body in a nearby creek. The two illegal aliens accused of the horrific crime crossed the southern border illegally and were quickly released into the country despite available detention space.

Instead of detainment, the Biden-Harris administration has backed Alternatives to Detention, a program that claims to include "intensive supervision" of released illegal immigrants. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told Congress in 2021 that he is "concerned about the overuse of detention, and where alternatives to detention, ATD, would suffice."

Simon Hankinson, a senior research fellow in the Border Security and Immigration Center at the Heritage Foundation, told Blaze News, "The bottom line is that the Biden Administration doesn't like deterrence, detention, or deportation and does as little as possible of all three. Knowing that most (98%) of detained illegal aliens are deported when ordered removed by courts, but very few (3%) are once released, they've put more money into Alternatives to Detention (see my Heritage report on that) and social welfare programs for released illegals awaiting their decisions.”

"ATD sounds better than nothing in theory, but in reality (a) they put only a small percentage of released illegal aliens on it, and (b) nearly all are dropped from monitoring before their final case decision. One of the illegal aliens who murdered Jocelyn Nungaray in Houston last month was supposed to be on ATD but reportedly cut it off after killing her," he told Blaze News, referring to an ankle-worn GPS monitor device.

Earlier this month, United States Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) introduced legislation in both chambers of Congress to improve the detention and tracking of illegal immigrants released into the U.S.

"With millions of illegal aliens invading our country, Border Czar Kamala Harris decided to close the nation's largest ICE detention center. Her America-last policies put illegal aliens ahead of law-abiding citizens," Cruz told Blaze News. "Twelve-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray was murdered because the Biden-Harris administration released two illegal aliens into the United States despite the availability of ICE detention beds. I introduced the Justice for Jocelyn Act to ensure that illegal aliens remain in ICE detention centers when there are beds available. Now, the Biden-Harris administration is inexplicably closing ICE detention centers to ensure that even more illegal aliens are released into our country.”

"Americans have had enough with these America-last policies, and they will vote the Biden-Harris administration out in November," Cruz declared.

Obama-Biden admin's decision to open the center

Biden's ICE claims the move to close the center is a cost-cutting measure that will allow the agency to increase overall detention capacity by adding 1,600 beds to other facilities across the nation. However, at the very least, the administration's move is puzzling, considering the center's shutdown would mean losing 2,400 beds.

The Dilley detention center is the largest in the nation, with the capacity to house 2,400 illegal aliens. The facility was opened by the Obama-Biden administration in late 2014 in response to an influx of illegal immigrant families — mainly from Central America — crossing the southern border and requesting asylum. According to Customs and Border Protection data, in fiscal year 2014, Border Patrol encountered more than 68,000 individuals in a family unit at the southern border.

While federal immigration officers are on-site, the facility's day-to-day operations are managed by CoreCivic and, according to ICE, are subject to monthly and bi-annual inspections. The 55-acre center includes playrooms, libraries, exercise rooms, a soccer field, volleyball and basketball courts, and a computer lab. However, despite the massive investment to build out its numerous amenities, the facility is slated to shut down operations in August, according to CoreCivic.

‘[A] deliberate act of amnesty through inaction.’

The Dilley detention center, which was specifically designed to hold families with children, shifted to only detaining single adults in December 2021 following a wave of criticism from Democratic politicians over family detainment and a civil lawsuit pertaining to the death of a toddler who succumbed to an illness after being housed at the facility.

CoreCivic told Blaze News, "In 2014, tens of thousands of Central Americans, including mothers and children, poured over the U.S.-Mexico border seeking asylum. This then-unprecedented influx led to what President Obama called an 'urgent humanitarian situation.' To address this crisis, the Obama-Biden Administration's U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reached out to CoreCivic to build and manage the South Texas Family Residential Center (STFRC)."

"This purpose-built, civil residential facility was specifically designed for immigrant mothers and children with several unique features including a comprehensive student education center, 775-square-foot recreation rooms in each residential complex, four gyms, three outdoor parks, a library with more than 24,000 volumes, and two chapels for worship. Over the years, the STFRC has successfully transitioned to a civil residential facility for adults, and we have continued to care for each person respectfully and humanely while they receive the legal due process that they are entitled to," CoreCivic added.

When the detention center opened, then-acting ICE Director Thomas Winkowski stated that the large facility would "help ensure timely and effective removals that comply with our legal and international obligations." At the time, he called the number of illegal aliens crossing with children at the southern border "unprecedented."

A 2014 press release from ICE claimed the Dilley center would "increase its [the agency's] capacity to detain and expedite the removal of adults with children who illegally crossed the Southwest border."

The Obama-Biden administration claimed the Dilley facility was necessary to address the then-"unprecedented" uptick in illegal crossings. Southern border encounters in 2014 now pale in comparison to the crisis the nation is facing under the Biden-Harris administration. The CBP reported over 821,000 encounters of individuals in a family unit in fiscal year 2023 and nearly 700,000 in 2024, with three months of this fiscal year remaining.

‘The Biden Border Executive Order was nothing more than political theatre aimed at appeasing certain voter bases rather than addressing the real issues at hand.’

Meanwhile, despite the existing overwhelmed immigration system, the administration appears to be doing everything in its power to expand so-called "legal pathways" to bring more foreign nationals into the U.S., particularly through its CBP One application. The administration's app allows individuals to schedule appointments at ports of entry along the southern border, where they can submit an asylum claim and be rapidly released into the country's interior on their own recognizance while awaiting years-out court hearings to determine their eligibility for asylum.

Biden-Harris admin skips right past option to renegotiate contract

The Biden-Harris administration’s ostensible justification for closing the facility is its cost. ICE has reported that the annual cost to run the Dilley detention center is $153.7 million, noting that it is "the most expensive facility in the national detention landscape."

CoreCivic reported in a press release that the center's population stood at 1,561 individuals as of June. Any detainees must be relocated to other facilities within the nation ahead of the slated August closure.

While the current need for more detention space is evident, the administration has reportedly not made any attempt to renegotiate its contract with CoreCivic to reduce the cost of the South Texas Family Residential Center.

In a statement to Blaze News, CoreCivic claimed that the Biden-Harris administration never reached out to request a contract renegotiation.

CoreCivic told Blaze News, "CoreCivic has partnered with both Democrat and Republican administrations for 40 years to help meet their immigration needs, including responding to numerous humanitarian crises like we did with the STFRC. We're very proud of our team at STFRC and at our immigration facilities around the country, and we will continue to be responsive to ICE's needs and direction."

When asked whether it could confirm or deny the company's claim that it was never approached about a contract renegotiation, ICE did not directly reply to the question.

An ICE spokesperson told Blaze News, "ICE remains focused on meeting the constantly changing operational needs of the interior immigration enforcement mission in a fiscally responsible manner. The agency has identified the South Texas Residential Family Center in Dilley, Texas as one of the most expensive facilities, providing standards that are no longer needed. In an effort to prioritize resource[s], ICE will be redirecting resources away from this facility to facilities and contracts that better meet ICE's operational needs."

‘The Biden admin has not only never filled existing, paid-for detention beds to capacity, but they have also asked for fewer in each budget.’

However, John Fabbricatore, a retired ICE Denver field office director and current Republican congressional candidate for Colorado's 6th District, told Blaze News that the decision to close the facility "makes absolutely no sense."

"We will lose 2,400 beds, and they will add 1,600 at 'other' centers. They have been limiting beds at numerous other contract facilities as well. We are already below 40,000 immigration detention beds nationwide," he continued. "Detention beds cost money no matter where they are located. When you add to that population at another facility, additional manpower must be added at an additional cost. According to contract specifications, judges, officers, and medical personnel could also be required. Where will these facilities be located? The further away the facility is from the border, the more potential there is for additional transportation costs."

Fabbricatore questioned the Biden-Harris administration’s apparent failure to renegotiate a lower contract with CoreCivic before committing to its closure. He called the administration’s actions “not just a lapse in judgment but a deliberate act of amnesty through inaction.”

"Also, what about appropriations?" he added. "If the money was previously appropriated to be used for detention costs, then that money is already there. Is there a report on the cost-saving analysis to include transportation, standing up an additional facility, hiring more officers at other locations, additional judges, medical, etc.?"

He remarked, "This decision clearly demonstrates that the Biden Border Executive Order was nothing more than political theatre aimed at appeasing certain voter bases rather than addressing the real issues at hand. Immigration detention is a true deterrent and eliminating any additional beds at this time shows those wishing to cross illegally that they have nothing to fear."

Jon Feere, director of investigations with the Center for Immigration Studies and former ICE chief of staff under the Trump administration, emphasized the importance of adding “more detention beds, not less.” He noted that ICE “needs to fill” those beds, which the Biden-Harris administration has not been doing.

"ICE also needs to quickly return illegal aliens back home in order to discourage illegal immigration. Closing down detention space is exactly what one would expect from the anti-border activists running policy inside the Biden administration and I'm skeptical that they'll open up new beds with any sense of urgency," Feere said.

Quickly returning illegal aliens to their country of origin will prove an especially difficult task for even the most determined and focused future administration that seeks to clamp down on the border crisis and ensure the nation’s security. The Biden-Harris administration has allowed millions of illegal immigrants to pour into the U.S. each year, with some border-encounter estimates north of 11 million since the administration took office. This estimate does not include known or unknown gotaways who have slipped into the country without being apprehended by law enforcement agents.

Potential contributing factors to Dilley center's closure

ICE's head-scratching decision to close its largest detention center while simultaneously emphasizing the need to "increase ... detention bed space capacity" sparks questions about whether other reasons behind the scenes are fueling the shutdown. While the Biden-Harris administration cited the center’s annual cost as the reason it decided to terminate its contract with CoreCivic, costly daily operations, as well as a number of safety and security concerns, might have contributed to the decision.

Harris ‘dislikes detention and enforcement and would like to get rid of ICE.’

Hankinson told Blaze News, "I can't entirely rule out the possibility that this closure is due to legitimate operational reasons, but we should be skeptical of any official reasoning. We know that the Biden admin has not only never filled existing, paid-for detention beds to capacity, but they have also asked for fewer in each budget. The current 41,000 total was more than they asked for and the larger number seems to have been due to pressure from Republicans during the Congressional budget process."

"I also find it notable that they are closing the largest family detention center, meaning they will concentrate on adults and leave the loophole open for people to traffic kids or use them as pawns to get in and get released," Hankinson continued. "Biden made it clear he would not detain putative family units, and they've abandoned DNA testing or any rigorous verification of claims. This incentivizes fraud."

A 2021 report from DailyMail.com claimed that the Dilley facility's daily operational costs were very costly, reportedly totaling nearly $3 million per day. Around the same time the news outlet released its report, a May 2021 compliance inspection — which was conducted remotely, citing COVID-19 — found that the Dilley center had 17 deficiencies concerning security and care.

Many Democratic politicians have decried the use of the detainment centers, claiming the conditions are inhumane. Initially, much of the controversy surrounding the facilities’ conditions was blamed on the Trump administration — igniting the infamous “kids in cages” scandal, which was later debunked as a practice of the Obama-Biden administration.

ICE is currently facing an ongoing lawsuit over the death of a 21-month-old child who died in 2018 shortly after being released from the detention center. The child's mother, Yazmin Juárez Coyoy, accused the agency of negligent medical care.

Juárez Coyoy, a Guatemalan national, claimed that her child fell ill while at the Dilley facility, succumbing to complications from two viruses after spending six weeks in New Jersey and Philadelphia hospitals following their release. According to the mother, her child was healthy prior to arriving at the facility but became sick after being held in crowded conditions where the center's staff failed to separate ill and healthy individuals.

In 2019, Juárez Coyoy provided testimony during a House Oversight subcommittee. While listening to the mother’s story, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) became visibly upset.

While it is unclear whether the complaint contributed to the decision to shut down the facility, it certainly added fuel to Democratic lawmakers’ existing push to end the detainment of illegal aliens.

Democratic U.S. Reps. Pramila Jayapal and Adam Smith from Washington recently called for the DHS to end its use of "private, for-profit detention centers" for illegal immigrants and instead "consider alternatives to expanding the immigration detention system."

Fabbricatore told Blaze News that the lawmakers' plan to end "contract detention centers is a method of 'Abolishing ICE.'"

"It will allow criminal aliens to be released immediately to the street and cause significant difficulties in succeeding in the deportation/removal process. The only true alternative to contract detention is federally owned and run facilities, which the Democrats will not fund or allow either," he explained.

In a joint statement, Jayapal and Smith wrote, "The problems with immigration detention facilities, ranging from unsafe and inhumane conditions to the overuse of solitary confinement and unwarranted medical procedures, are well-documented by DHS's Office of Inspector General, media reports, and non-profit organizations."

"Private prison companies prioritize profits over people and care. We should not [... be] increasing harmful immigration detention when more humane and cost-effective alternatives exist," the Democratic lawmakers argued.

Jayapal and Smith noted their support for shutting down the South Texas Family Residential Center, which they claimed "prioritize[d] profits over humane care." The two expressed concerns that the funds saved by closing down the facility will be used to expand other private detention centers.

Hankinson told Blaze News, "The far left of the Democratic party is running Biden's immigration policy, and in his lame duck months they will go for broke. Jayapal, like former Senator Kamala Harris, dislikes detention and enforcement and would like to get rid of ICE. The criminal justice philosophy dominant on the Left is the 'abolitionist' ideology that believes in replacing the criminal justice system with some kind, soft alternatives that don't involve anyone ever being detained (or punished)."

He added, "That will work on immigration as well as it has on shoplifting, which is up 50% this year and has emptied many big city stores. At my local CVS — a block from the White House — they literally lock up the Charmin toilet paper and trash bags!"