The Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas, reopened by the Trump administration, holds hundreds of children, many for months beyond the 20-day limit set by court order, according to multiple media reports. Emergency crews were dispatched to Dilley at least 11 times between mid-September 2025 and February 2026 for children in medical distress, including respiratory distress, seizures, low oxygen levels, broken bones, and severe fever. In at least three cases, children were transferred to a pediatric hospital in San Antonio. A 22-month-old in respiratory distress was so serious that first responders wanted to fly him by helicopter but couldn't due to bad weather, according to emergency records. Parents of a toddler with low oxygen refused transport, records show. A 2-month-old named Juan Nicolás was taken to a hospital with a respiratory illness after choking on vomit and was later deported to Mexico. Children involved in the 911 calls ranged from 2 months to 13 years old, according to research from three sources.
Individual cases highlight prolonged detention and family separation. A 19-year-old asylum seeker from the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been detained at Dilley for more than four months, according to Olivia. A Venezuelan mother of two, allegedly trafficked to the US, was arrested by ICE at a routine check-in and separated from her children; her alleged trafficker remains free, her lawyers said. TSA alerted ICE about a Guatemalan mother and her daughter at San Francisco International Airport, leading to their arrest, according to government documents obtained by The New York Times. A 3-year-old girl was allegedly sexually abused while in foster care after being separated from her mother by immigration officials, according to court documents and the girl's father.
ICE enforcement actions have drawn controversy. ICE failed to ask deported parents about their children, violating its own policies, according to a report by the Women's Refugee Commission and Physicians for Human Rights. The Trump administration sent a government plane to Cuba to return a 10-year-old child at the center of a custody dispute involving gender identity, according to a criminal complaint. A Texas court interpreter, Meenu Batra, was arrested by ICE after living in the US for over 35 years and fears deportation to a country she has never been to, according to Batra and her lawyer. A US citizen, ChongLy 'Scott' Thao, was detained by ICE in a possible kidnapping, burglary, and false imprisonment; local authorities are investigating, according to the Ramsey county attorney and sheriff. DHS defended its agents, stating that ICE does not kidnap people and that officers were executing a warrant at Thao's property, a DHS spokesperson said.
Facility conditions, oversight, and political context have drawn scrutiny. Democratic lawmakers report that the Dilley facility has become more secretive under new DHS leadership and that children face cruelty and inadequate medical care, according to Rep. Joaquin Castro and Rep. Greg Casar. The Dilley facility is run by private prison firm CoreCivic, according to multiple media reports. Liam Conejo Ramos, a 5-year-old, was detained at Dilley with his father and became ill and lethargic, according to multiple media reports. A 2-year-old girl at Dilley was denied medicine as her health deteriorated, her parents said. ICE confirmed at least two measles cases inside the facility last month, according to ICE. The number of people in ICE custody has exploded since Trump returned to the White House, with more than 60,000 held at any point, according to multiple media reports. The Dilley facility first opened during Obama's administration, was stopped for families under Biden, and reopened under Trump, according to multiple media reports. CoreCivic stated that no child has been denied medical treatment, a CoreCivic spokesperson said. Dr. Sean Conley, DHS Chief Medical Officer, said in an official statement that allegations of denied medical care are false and that detainees receive timely and appropriate care. According to www.nbcnews.com, Dr. Lara Jones, a pediatric critical care physician, described the emergency calls as pointing to missed opportunities for earlier medical intervention and that detaining children is incompatible with their health. According to www.ksat.com, U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro described medical care as denied and detainees treated like animals.