DILLEY, TEXAS — Immigration Judge Saul Greenstein ordered Ana Kikabidze and her children to be deported to Georgia. The ruling followed a final hearing in which the judge denied the family release on bond.

Ana Kikabidze and her two children were held for weeks at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas. At the time of their final hearing, the children had been detained for 38 days.

Greenstein stated that the family members were 'arriving aliens' and therefore ineligible for release. This classification prevented them from securing bond while their immigration case proceeded.

Kikabidze originally won a U.S. immigration lottery in 2013. She, her husband, and their son Nikoloz obtained green cards and moved to New York City.

The family lived in New York City for six months before returning to Georgia to care for her father, who had fallen ill with cancer. Kikabidze later spent three years recovering her green card status, a process that included flying to the U.S. for fingerprinting and FBI background checks for herself and her children.

Donald Trump reopened the Dilley facility last year to further his mass deportation goals. More than 66,000 parents and children have been detained and deported since Donald Trump took office, according to an analysis by Austin Kocher.

The Flores Settlement forbids the government from detaining children for longer than five days, or 20 days during a migration surge, without providing an individual justification. In July, more than half the children at Dilley had been held there longer than 20 days, according to court records.

Timeline

In 2013, Ana Kikabidze won a U.S. immigration lottery. Donald Trump reopened the Dilley facility last year to further his mass deportation goals.

U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee warned Trump administration attorneys in June that she was displeased with the prolonged detention of children at Dilley. During the same period, Judge Gee noted cases of minors confined for 50 days, 91 days, or 323 days. Judge Gee indicated her intent to appoint an independent monitor to conduct unannounced visits to detention facilities at Dilley and border cells. In July, more than half the children at Dilley had been held there longer than 20 days, according to court records.

What's New

A federal judge in California, Gee, gave agency officials until October 23 to comply with the ruling that children held in family detention centers after crossing the US-Mexico border illegally must be released rapidly. Additional reporting indicates the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, has a capacity of 2,400 and is intended to detain mainly women and children from Central America.

United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) closed the detention center in June 2024, citing cost savings to add more beds in other facilities as the Biden administration implemented new border restrictions.

Why It Matters

The case shows ongoing legal disputes regarding the duration of family detention at border facilities. U.S. District Judge she warned Trump administration attorneys in June that she was displeased with the prolonged detention of children at Dilley. She noted specific instances where minors were confined for 50 days, 91 days, or 323 days.

Critics argue that extended detention serves as a mechanism to pressure families into dropping their legal claims. Former immigration judge Jeremiah Johnson said in an interview, "It’s a legal strategy to detain someone so they abandon or withdraw their case." The Flores Settlement establishes limits on how long children can be held, requiring individual justification for detentions exceeding five days, or 20 days during a migration surge.