Biden administration will close a facility used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Dilley, Texas, to detain families and single adults found illegally crossing the U.S. southern border, The Wall Street Journal reported.
According to ICE officials, the detention center is much more expensive than other facilities, and the administration is looking to ease costs as it prepares to pay for additional detention centers after President Joe Biden issued executive action concerning the border last week.
"U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement remains focused on meeting the constantly changing operational needs of the immigration enforcement mission in a fiscally responsible manner," Patrick J. Lechleitner, acting director of ICE, said in a statement.
"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."
The officials noted to the Journal that unless Congress approves additional funds, the Biden administration can't deport more migrants without adding space to hold them as they await deportation. But with the estimated savings from closing Dilley, the administration can add as many as 1,600 more beds in other detention centers, they said.
Dilley, which was originally built to house workers in nearby oil fields, was used during the Obama and Trump administrations to detain families, including children, who crossed the southern border illegally. That ended under Biden, and the facility has been used to detain single adults since 2021.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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