(NewsNation) — Some Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers have reached maximum capacity, according to Trump administration officials.
The detention centers are currently holding 47,600 migrants, a senior official with ICE told reporters Wednesday.
ICE officials on the call said the agency is working on expanding its capacity with support from the United States Defense Department, U.S. Marshals Service and the Bureau of Prisons.
Other facilities, meanwhile, are still closing their doors, including “Firefly,” which opened in Eagle Pass, Texas, in July 2022. It’s not the only one closing — others along the southern border will be as well as migrant crossings drop.
However, high-level sources within Customs and Border Protection tell NewsNation they are still keeping a few open to help with arrests and deportations done under the Trump administration.
Now, ICE is calling on Congress to provide it more money for housing, as it currently has more than 6,000 more detainees in custody than it has the funds for.
“We need the money to continue, don’t we?” border czar Tom Homan said earlier this month. “ICE is already in the hole, and we need Congress to step up and give us the funding we need so President Trump will keep his promise to American people.”
There is a facility in Dilley, Texas, that is being reopened after being shut down for about a year, and a facility in Karnes County, Texas, that regularly houses single adult men, which is now transitioning to detain family units.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s office said he has been in regular conversations with the Trump administration about available land and facilities for use, as any effort to lease or donate Texas land to the federal government must be conducted through the governor.