New court documents describe families living in cramped metal trailers while struggling to get food, water and adequate medical care.

The Biden administration shuttered the Dilley facility last year because of high operating costs. It’s expected to hold immigrant families under the Trump administration.

The decision to halt the program could prevent thousands of people detained in immigration detention centers from receiving legal advice.

Republicans and some Democrats fear that relaxing detention policies will exacerbate a surge that is already straining the Biden administration. AdWhile the tally is a fraction of the combined capacity of 3,300 people at three family residential centers, the uptick baffled child-welfare advocates who hoped that the detention centers would finally close. They note that Biden and DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas helped to expand use of these detention centers during the Obama administration. “There needs to be open expression of what they’re going to do with these facilities,” said Bridget Cambria, a lawyer representing migrant families in Pennsylvania. AdThe Biden administration has not yet detailed how exactly it will cope with another influx.

The South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley is one of two family immigrant detention centers in Texas. Laura Skelding for The Texas TribuneAs the coronavirus spreads in detention centers, a federal judge ordered the release of migrant children held for more than 20 days at three family detention centers in Texas and Pennsylvania, the Associated Press reported Friday. More than 2,500 detainees have tested positive for COVID-19 while in ICE custody, the AP reported. ICE has said it has released more than 900 detainees with increased medical risks and de-densified the detainee populations at the three family detention centers in Texas and Pennsylvania. But according to the agency in May, most people in family detention are considered flight risks because of pending deportation orders or cases under review.