An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

  • Archived Content
    In an effort to keep CBP.gov current, the archive contains content from a previous administration or is otherwise outdated.
  1. Home
  2. Newsroom
  3. National Media Release
  4. CBP Expands the Current Donna Facility to Hold Increased Levels of Unaccompanied Alien Children, Family Units in South Texas

CBP Expands the Current Donna Facility to Hold Increased Levels of Unaccompanied Alien Children, Family Units in South Texas

Release Date
Thu, 06/20/2019

DONNA, Texas—U.S. Customs and Border Protection is responding to the record numbers of unaccompanied alien children and family units along our Southwest border with an expansion of the current temporary holding facility near Donna-Rio Bravo International Bridge. 

The temporary facility is near the CBP Donna-Rio Bravo International Bridge in Donna, Texas. The facility will be able to hold up an additional 500 people and will remain open pending any changes in the volume of people arriving at the ports of entry or crossing the border between the ports in the South Texas area until they are released to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). CBP signed a contract on June 14, 2019 for a new soft-sided facility in Yuma, Arizona, that is expected to open later this month.  

CBP will process the Unaccompanied Alien Children and Family Units and once processing is complete, CBP will transfer them over to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Refugee Resettlement (HHS-ORR) or ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) respectively.

CBP is continuing to work with other federal and international agencies to discourage potential illegal border crossers from embarking on the dangerous trip to enter the U.S. illegally. Family Units are easy prey for coyotes and transnational criminal organizations and they can be subjected to robbery, violence, sexual assault, sex trafficking or forced labor.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between official ports of entry. CBP is charged with securing the borders of the United States while enforcing hundreds of laws and facilitating lawful trade and travel.

Last Modified: Feb 03, 2021