A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Detention centers in Texas hold more migrants than those in any other state. Now, earlier this month, it was about 11,000 people, and that includes some children who are in the same facility as their parents. Texas Newsroom investigative reporter Stella Chavez spent some time talking to the neighbors of two detention centers in South Texas.
STELLA CHAVEZ, BYLINE: Dilley, Texas, is the kind of small town where people know each other. The post office displays a sign that reads, Dilley, a slice of the good life. Reynaldo Trevino was born here and thinks the Trump administration and Texas Governor Greg Abbott spend too much money on immigration enforcement. But good-paying jobs are scarce. So plans to reopen the South Texas Family Residential Center means more jobs. Some pay as much as 30 bucks an hour. Trevino thinks many will try to land a job at the privately run facility.
REYNALDO TREVINO: It's like any other job. It's just like a prison, right? You're hired, and you're doing a job, and why not? And I don't see anything wrong with that individual working there if he has an economic decision to make.
CHAVEZ: Although border crossings have dropped recently, Texas continues to be a major player in Trump's mass deportation plans. About 20 detention facilities are in the state. A few months ago, the state land commissioner offered the Trump administration property along the border to hold migrants. CoreCivic has operated the Dilley facility since 2014, but last summer, the Biden administration decided to close it. Henry Arredondo, the city administrator, says the city lost 500 to 600 jobs.
HENRY ARREDONDO: We feel the effects - like, a direct impact.
CHAVEZ: Arredondo says he used to visit the center, which can hold 2,400 people. He describes it as clean and organized. He's glad jobs are returning but also feels sympathy for the families who will be housed there.
ARREDONDO: The human beings that are going to be there, they're - obviously, they're on a challenging adventure, you want to call it. But, you know, they need to be treated with dignity and respect.
CHAVEZ: Residents here say they don't focus too much on controversies about immigration. More than 60% voted for Trump in 2024. One hundred miles east, families are already being held at the Karnes County center, according to attorneys who've visited the 1,300-bed facility. Recently, The GEO Group updated its contract with the federal government so that it can hold families instead of only adult males. It's unclear how many families are there. Both CoreCivic and The GEO Group referred questions to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE did not return emails or phone calls seeking comment. Laura Flores-Dixit, an attorney with the nonprofit American Gateways, represents one of the families at the Karnes Center.
LAURA FLORES-DIXIT: We're immensely concerned about children being detained at any time. It's our fervent belief that there's no humane way to detain children.
CHAVEZ: Karnes County Judge Wade Hedtke says The GEO Group has been a great partner for the past 20-plus years.
WADE HEDTKE: They've brought good-paying jobs. They've employed a lot of our locals. But as far as what goes on behind those walls, the county doesn't have anything to do with it.
CHAVEZ: Nearly 4 in 5 people here voted for Trump in 2024.
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CHAVEZ: At Becky's Cafe downtown, Mike Guerrero enjoys his lunch. He says in this part of Texas, everyone knows someone who immigrated, legally or illegally. As for Trump's plan to deport migrants, his concern is the children.
MIKE GUERRERO: I don't agree in separating the kids. If they can avoid that. That'd be a good idea to house the whole families in those until they decide, you know, what they're going to do with them.
CHAVEZ: Less than a mile away is the Karnes facility, a sprawling building with security cameras and fencing all around. It's where migrants will continue to arrive.
For NPR News, I'm Stella Chavez in South Texas. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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