Emergency medical services have been dispatched to the Dilley Immigration Processing Center at least 11 times since mid-September to treat children in medical distress, according to EMS call logs and 911 audio obtained by NBC News. Staff called for emergency help for young children and pregnant women between October 2025 and February 2026, 911 recordings reviewed by KSAT and obtained by ABC News indicate. The calls involved children with symptoms such as respiratory distress, fever, lethargy, allergic reactions, leg fractures, low oxygen levels, and seizures. Most of the children were taken to a nearby community hospital, the records show. In at least three cases, children were transferred more than an hour away to a specialized pediatric hospital in San Antonio. In one case, a 22-month-old in respiratory distress had a condition so serious that first responders wanted to fly him by helicopter but couldn't due to bad weather. The children involved in the 911 calls ranged in age from 2 months old to 13 years old, and most calls involved low oxygen levels and respiratory distress. According to www.nbcnews.com, Lara Jones, a pediatric critical care physician, described the emergency calls as pointing to potential missed opportunities for earlier medical intervention that might have prevented some hospitalizations.
This surge in medical emergencies occurs as the number of detained families at Dilley has risen sharply since last fall. The Dilley facility was opened by the Obama administration in 2014, scaled back by the Biden administration in 2021, and closed three years later before being reopened by the Trump administration last spring. About 5,600 immigrants, more than half children, have been detained at Dilley since it reopened last year, according to major media reports. The number of people in ICE custody has exploded since Trump returned to the White House, with more than 60,000 people held at any given point. The Trump administration implemented new rules last year leading to longer detention times for immigrant children. Roughly 6,200 children have been placed in ICE detention since the beginning of Donald Trump's second term. Joe Biden's administration stopped holding families at the facility in 2021, but the federal government does not publicly disclose information about children in immigration custody.
Dilley operates with 'creepy secrecy' under DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin.
ICE has been holding hundreds of children at Dilley, many for months, according to major media reports. The government is holding many children at Dilley beyond the 20-day limit set by a longstanding court order. Many detainees at Dilley have lived in the U.S. for several years with roots in communities, lawyers and other observers say. A young Ecuadorian mother and her 7-year-old daughter were detained at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center for a month before being released. Liam Conejo Ramos, a 5-year-old boy, was detained by ICE agents in Minneapolis and sent to Dilley with his father. Liam and his father were released from Dilley after 10 days following intervention by members of Congress and a judge, according to Christian Hinojosa. Olivia, a 19-year-old asylum seeker from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, has been detained at Dilley for over four months. Olivia was apprehended with her family in November, separated, reunited at Dilley, and then separated again after ICE agreed to release her family but not her. Olivia's brother Manuel drowned during her family's journey from South America to the U.S. Olivia and her family fled political persecution in the DRC, stopped in South America, and arrived in the U.S. in December 2022. Olivia was living in Maine with her family awaiting an asylum decision before their case was denied and they attempted to seek asylum in Canada. Olivia was separated from her family because she is 19, an adult, and was moved between detention centers and made to wear an orange jumpsuit.
Allegations of due process violations and family separations are widespread. A Venezuelan mother of two, referred to as Flora, was allegedly trafficked to the U.S. and is unlawfully detained by ICE, facing possible deportation, her lawyers claim. Flora has applications in process for asylum and a visa for trafficking victims. Flora was arrested at a routine check-in in January and separated from her two children, aged 18 months and four. Flora's alleged trafficker, who impregnated her and lured her to the U.S., is free, according to a habeas petition. Flora's lawyers allege her due process rights were violated because she is not a flight risk or danger and was not given a hearing before detention. Flora was allegedly repeatedly raped, forced into unpaid labor, and abused by her trafficker in the U.S., the habeas petition states. Flora escaped her trafficker last year with help from police and a non-profit, but he later found her at a church in Maryland, according to Caroline Pizano. A restraining order was granted by Maryland authorities against Flora's alleged trafficker.
Agents drove me 'to the middle of nowhere', forced me out to photograph me, then dropped me home after realizing their mistake.
Arrests leading to detention often involve coordination between agencies. TSA staff alerted ICE to a Guatemalan mother and her 9-year-old daughter at San Francisco's airport, leading to their arrest. The family was preparing to board a flight to Miami when arrested after TSA flagged their names to ICE, according to government documents obtained by The New York Times. Under the Trump administration, TSA provides ICE with names and birth dates of travelers believed to have removal orders. Angelina Lopez-Jimenez was carrying two Guatemalan passports matching names on a 2019 removal order. Lopez-Jimenez attempted to flee and resisted officers during her arrest, a Homeland Security spokesperson said. Videos show officers holding Lopez-Jimenez down and bystanders asking for their badges. San Francisco Police Department officers formed a barrier between the family and bystanders during the arrest.
ICE has failed to follow policies requiring officers to ask arrestees about their children to decide their fate upon deportation, according to a report from the Women's Refugee Commission and Physicians for Human Rights. A 22-year-old pregnant woman was deported to Honduras without being asked about her 2-year-old daughter left behind. A 27-year-old woman arrested at a traffic light was not asked about her children before being deported, leaving her 11-year-old son behind. The Trump administration revised guidelines last summer, allowing ICE to support children joining deported parents only if 'operationally feasible'. More than half of parents interviewed said ICE never asked about their children during arrest, detention, or removal, the report found.
ICE does not 'kidnap' people and agents were executing a warrant based on surveillance linking sexual predator targets to Thao's property.
Family separations have led to severe consequences in foster care. A 3-year-old girl was allegedly sexually abused at a foster home after being separated from her mother by immigration officials, according to court documents and her father. The girl's father, a legal permanent resident, waited five months for her release and learned of the abuse only after turning to the courts. The girl said she was sexually abused by an older child in foster care in Harlingen, Texas, causing bleeding. The girl underwent a forensic exam and interview, and the abuse allegations were reported to local law enforcement, the lawsuit and lawyer Lauren Fisher Flores state. The older child accused of abuse was removed from the foster program, according to the lawsuit.
Democratic members of Congress say the Dilley detention center has become 'more secretive' under new DHS leadership, with cruelty and inadequate medical care. The number of detainees at Dilley dropped to roughly 100 last month from January's average of over 900, but advocates say over 300 people, including 77 children, are currently locked up. During a visit, Dilley employees read scripts commanded by ICE leadership in Washington, D.C., refusing to answer questions, according to Rep. Joaquin Castro. U.S. Representative Joaquin Castro said Dilley operates with 'creepy secrecy' under DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin. He also stated that medical care has been denied and detainees are treated like animals. Dilley has been criticized for lack of proper health care and food; it reported two measles cases in February. A report by Human Rights First and RAICES found pervasive abuses at Dilley, with over 5,600 people imprisoned between April 2025 and February 2026.
Medical care has been denied and detainees are treated like animals.
Individual cases highlight harsh conditions. Meenu Batra, a Texas court interpreter, was arrested by ICE after living in the U.S. for over 35 years and fears deportation to a country she has never been to. Batra is the only licensed Punjabi, Hindi, and Urdu court interpreter in Texas and has served in immigration court. Batra was granted 'withholding of removal' to India in 2000 due to fear of persecution. Batra was detained without food or water for 24 hours and denied medication for several days after arrest, according to her declaration. Officers made Batra pose for photos with hands behind her back for social media, making her feel humiliated.
Authorities in Minnesota are investigating the detention of U.S. citizen ChongLy 'Scott' Thao by ICE as possible kidnapping, burglary, and false imprisonment. Masked ICE officers broke down Thao's door without a warrant and dragged him into the street in his underwear in subfreezing conditions, his family says. Thao refused to be fingerprinted or facially identified during the operation, according to a DHS statement. According to The Guardian - World, ChongLy 'Scott' Thao described agents driving him 'to the middle of nowhere', forcing him out to photograph him, then dropping him home after realizing their mistake. A DHS spokesperson stated that ICE does not 'kidnap' people and agents were executing a warrant based on surveillance linking sexual predator targets to Thao's property.
The emergency calls point to potential missed opportunities for earlier medical intervention that might have prevented some children from being hospitalized.
Tania Warner and her 7-year-old daughter Ayla were detained by ICE for nearly three weeks in Texas facilities. Warner and Ayla were held with families from various nations, forming kinship across languages, according to Tania Warner. Warner and Ayla were originally held at Rio Grande valley central processing center before transfer to Dilley on 20 March. Warner was pressured by guards at Dilley to 'self-deport'. Warner and Ayla were stopped at a border patrol checkpoint in Sarita, Texas, on 14 March and detained despite Warner claiming their documents are in order. Warner and Ayla were released on 3 April on a $9,500 bond.
The lack of transparency at Dilley and other ICE facilities complicates efforts to assess the full scope of the crisis. It remains unclear what specific actions or investigations are being taken by authorities in response to the alleged abuses and medical neglect. The exact number of children currently detained at Dilley and other ICE facilities is unknown, given conflicting reports and the lack of public disclosure. Legal outcomes for cases like Flora's, where due process violations are alleged, are pending, and it is not known how many similar cases exist. Measures to prevent family separations and ensure children's safety in foster care or detention have not been detailed by ICE. The agency's protocols for deporting families with medical emergencies and their care post-release are also unclear.
There is no appropriate way to detain a child, citing studies showing detention is associated with serious health consequences.