• The Trump administration reopened family detention centers in Texas to detain migrant families with children facing deportation orders. The move, part of a broader effort to carry out the “largest deportation operation in American history,” reverses a Biden-era policy.
• Authorities work to refit the previously shuttered Karnes and Dilley detention centers to accommodate families and expand their capacity by over 600 beds.
• Immigration advocates and lawmakers have condemned the return of family detention, citing harm to children and concerns about neglect and abuse in the facilities.

Full Story

The Trump administration has begun detaining migrant families with children in federal immigration facilities, reversing a policy that ended under former President Joe Biden. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed two Texas detention centers, previously closed under Biden, are being renovated to accommodate families facing deportation orders.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has already sent the first group of parents and children to the Karnes detention facility in Texas, according to government documents obtained by CBS News.

DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said the move aligns with the administration’s broader effort to carry out what President Donald Trump calls the “largest deportation operation in American history.”

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Which facilities will the Trump administration reopen?

The Trump administration began modifying the Karnes County Civil Detention Center in Karnes City and South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley to house migrant families. The Obama administration originally opened the facilities to deter illegal border crossings.

The Biden administration repurposed them to house single adults before closing them entirely.

ICE will increase the capacity at both sites, adding more than 600 beds at Karnes. Dilley, once the largest ICE detention center in the country, will also see an increase in capacity.

Immigration officials said these changes will allow for the rapid processing and deportation of families with final removal orders from immigration judges.

What is driving the policy change?

Trump officials argued that detaining families is necessary to enforce immigration laws and deter illegal crossings. The administration has prioritized ramping up deportations, with ICE officials under pressure to increase arrests of undocumented immigrants already in the U.S.

Unlike the administration’s success in reducing border crossings, its enforcement efforts in the interior have faced logistical challenges. ICE detention facilities have been operating beyond capacity, holding more than 46,000 migrants despite having only 38,000 beds available on paper, according to internal agency statistics.

How have advocates and lawmakers responded?

Immigration advocates and civil rights groups have condemned the return of family detention, calling it harmful to children. A 2016 DHS-commissioned report recommended phasing out the practice, citing concerns about the psychological toll on minors.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) also opposed the decision, citing past instances of neglect and abuse at the Dilley detention center when it housed families under previous administrations.

Private prison contractors operating the detention centers will profit from the changes. CoreCivic Inc., which runs Dilley, expects the facility to generate $180 million annually.

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What’s next for US immigration enforcement?

Trump has asked Congress to approve more funding for mass deportations.

In his recent address to lawmakers, he compared his immigration crackdown to “Operation Wetback,” the 1950s mass deportation program under former President Dwight Eisenhower.

As Trump’s deportation push escalates, the debate over how to handle migrant families continues. The administration maintains that detention is necessary to enforce immigration laws, while critics warn of legal and humanitarian consequences.