News from TRAC

ICE Closes South Texas Family Residential Center, Once the Largest ICE Detention Facility in the Country

(30 Aug 2024) In June 2024, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced the closure of South Texas Family Residential Center, one of the largest ICE detention facilities in the country. Agency officials claimed that because it is “the most expensive facility in the national detention network,” “[c]losing this facility will enable ICE to reallocate funding to increase overall detention bed capacity by an estimated 1,600 beds.”

Located in Dilley, Texas, South Texas Family Residential Center reported an average daily detained population of 1,707 detainees in the last update from early July 2024 after previously detaining up to an average of 2,050 people on a daily basis in November 2023. With the closure of the Dilley location, the largest ICE detention facilities in the country are, in order: South Texas ICE Processing Center (Pearsall, TX), Stewart Detention Center (Lumpkin, GA), and Adams County Detention Center (Natchez, MS).

The number of individuals detained nationally decreased slightly to 36,223 as the number of arrests by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) continued to drop. Enrollment in Alternatives to Detention (ATD) increased, with the proliferation of ICE’s wristworn monitoring technology especially notable. ICE used wristworn devices to monitor 5,717 individuals according to the most recent update, an increase from 233 individuals monitored with the technology a mere six months ago.

Highlights from data updated in TRAC's Detention Quick Facts tool show that:

Immigration and Customs Enforcement held 36,233 in ICE detention according to data current as of August 25, 2024.
21,327 out of 36,223—or 58.9%—held in ICE detention have no criminal record, according to data current as of August 25, 2024. Many more have only minor offenses, including traffic violations.
ICE relied on detention facilities in Texas to house the most people during FY 2024, according to data current as of August 19, 2024.
ICE arrested 8,009 and CBP arrested 15,627 of the 23,636 people booked into detention by ICE during July 2024.
South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall, Texas held the largest number of ICE detainees so far in FY 2024, averaging 1,589 per day (as of August 2024).
ICE Alternatives to Detention (ATD) programs are currently monitoring 175,619 families and single individuals, according to data current as of August 24, 2024.
Chicago's area office has the highest number in ICE's Alternatives to Detention (ATD) monitoring programs, according to data current as of August 24, 2024.

TRAC’s Immigration Quick Facts provides the latest data on immigrant detention, immigration court cases, and immigration prosecutions in federal court. Each page includes several key data points alongside a graphic or table, a short description for context, and a link to more data. Visit trac.syr.edu/immigration/quickfacts for more information.