What keeping families together could mean for detained undocumented immigrants

KARNES COUNTY, Texas – Less than 24 hours after President Donald Trump ended family separations at the border, the Department of Justice filed a motion to allow parents and their children to be held longer than what is allowed under current law.

The Flores settlement states that families cannot be detained longer than 20 days. The move is aimed at stopping the separation of children from their families amid a new policy where anyone caught crossing the border is charged criminally.

At some point, families could go from being processed together to being detained together. They would be held in detention centers, such as the one in Karnes County, which was built soon after the 2014 surge of unaccompanied minors from Central America.

Karnes County Sheriff Dwayne Villanueva said his department is typically notified when there will be new arrivals at the detention center. So far, he hasn’t heard anything.

The families could also be taken to a similar facility built in Dilley around the same time.

The families could go to either facility to await the parents' criminal proceeding and children's immigration hearing.


About the Author:

Jessie Degollado has been with KSAT since 1984. She is a general assignments reporter who covers a wide variety of stories. Raised in Laredo and as an anchor/reporter at KRGV in the Rio Grande Valley, Jessie is especially familiar with border and immigration issues. In 2007, Jessie also was inducted into the San Antonio Women's Hall of Fame.