WASHINGTON, June 10 (Reuters) - U.S. Immigration and

Customs Enforcement (ICE) will close a costly Texas detention

center and reallocate the funds to increase overall detention

capacity as the agency ramps up operations to implement new U.S.

border restrictions.

In a memo to U.S. lawmakers on Monday, ICE said it would

shutter the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley,

Texas, freeing up money to expand detention bed space elsewhere.

Biden, a Democrat seeking another term in Nov. 5 elections,

rolled out a policy last week that bars most migrants who cross

the U.S.-Mexico border illegally from claiming asylum. The new

asylum ban aims to quickly process migrants for potential

deportation, which could strain ICE's detention space.

As of June 6, the agency held around 37,000 people, close to

its funded capacity of 41,500, ICE figures show.

The move to close the Texas facility, known as "Dilley,"

frees up resources for an additional 1,600 beds, ICE said in the

memo, which was reviewed by Reuters. ICE confirmed the closure

in a related press release.

Dilley was opened in 2014 to house migrant families caught

crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally, a contentious

practice the Biden administration halted by early 2022.

The center, operated by the private company CoreCivic ( CXW )

, held around 1,800 people as of June 6, the bulk of whom were

women with no criminal records, ICE records show.

Dilley was one of nine detention centers identified in an

internal 2022 memo recommending closing or downsizing centers

with high costs or staffing shortages. The memo, reported by

Reuters last year, said ICE could save $129 million by closing

it.

In the memo to Congress, ICE said Dilley was "the most

expensive facility in the national detention network."

ICE also said it was "optimizing" its contracts with charter

airlines to potentially increase the number of deportation

flights per week.

CoreCivic ( CXW ) did not immediately respond to requests for

comment.