Families Describe Trauma, Illness and Fear at South Texas Immigration Detention Center

Accounts from detained families, their attorneys and court filings describe Dilley as a place where hundreds of children languish, served contaminated food, receiving little education and struggling to access basic medical care.

Feb. 6, 2026 at 4:23pm

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Before she arrived at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center last fall, Kelly Vargas said her 6-year-old daughter Maria was thriving. But within days of being detained and transferred to the prisonlike South Texas facility, Vargas said her daughter began to unravel, wetting her clothes and bed, crying through the night, and begging to start breastfeeding again. Vargas, who was deported to Colombia with her family in November after nearly two months at Dilley, said she never imagined the United States could treat children this way. Accounts from other detained families, their attorneys and court filings describe Dilley as a place where hundreds of children languish, served contaminated food, receiving little education and struggling to access basic medical care.

Why it matters

The Dilley Immigration Processing Center has drawn national attention for its harsh conditions, with concerns intensifying after health officials confirmed two measles cases among detainees. Advocates and medical experts warn that an outbreak of a highly contagious disease in a crowded facility housing young children poses a serious public health risk. The case highlights the trauma and harm inflicted on immigrant families, especially children, through the continued use of family detention.

The details

Families, their attorneys and court filings describe Dilley as operating more like a prison than a child care center, with constant surveillance, rigid schedules, and overnight bed checks. Parents report children losing weight, withdrawing emotionally, and refusing to eat due to the poor quality and unsuitability of the food. Education is minimal, with children receiving at most an hour of instruction per day, often limited to worksheets and coloring pages. Medical care is often cursory, with children with chronic conditions or developmental delays reportedly regressing. The psychological toll can be severe, with a 5-year-old girl recently describing recurring nightmares of being chased by a large animal while trapped in a cage.

  • In November 2022, Kelly Vargas and her family were deported to Colombia after nearly two months at the Dilley facility.
  • In December 2022, about 345 children were detained at Dilley with their parents.

The players

Kelly Vargas

A mother who was detained at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center with her 6-year-old daughter Maria, and was later deported to Colombia.

Maria

Kelly Vargas' 6-year-old daughter who began to unravel after being detained at the Dilley facility, experiencing issues such as wetting her clothes and bed, crying through the night, and begging to start breastfeeding again.

Liam Conejo Ramos

A 5-year-old boy who was detained at the Dilley facility following his father's arrest in Minneapolis, sparking outrage among lawmakers and the public.

Becky Wolozin

A senior attorney at the National Center for Youth Law, which monitors the Dilley facility under a long-standing federal court settlement.

Elora Mukherjee

A Columbia Law School professor and director of its Immigrants' Rights Clinic, who described Dilley as "a prison where we are keeping children as young as 1 year old".

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What they’re saying

“How are they going to do this to a child? How could this happen here?”

— Kelly Vargas

“Liam is all the kids there.”

— Becky Wolozin, senior attorney, National Center for Youth Law

“It is a prison where we are keeping children as young as 1 year old. We're keeping children who are still breastfeeding. It's unconscionable.”

— Elora Mukherjee, Columbia Law School professor and director of its Immigrants' Rights Clinic

What’s next

The judge in the case will decide on Tuesday whether or not to allow Walker Reed Quinn out on bail.

The takeaway

This case highlights the ongoing trauma and harm inflicted on immigrant families, especially children, through the continued use of family detention. It raises serious concerns about the health and safety of detainees, the lack of adequate education and medical care, and the psychological toll of these harsh conditions. The Dilley facility's practices appear to violate the Flores Settlement Agreement and raise questions about the government's commitment to the wellbeing of vulnerable populations in its custody.