DILLEY, Texas – Congressman Joaquin Castro is raising alarms about the conditions inside the detention facility in Dilley after his recent visit. This marks his second visit since January, when 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos was held there.
Castro said he is deeply concerned about the children and pregnant women currently detained at the facility. He reported that requests he made to improve conditions have not been fulfilled.
On Friday, Castro met with numerous children and their families inside the facility. Castro said the children told him they still are not receiving adequate food and are being denied medical care.
One 15-year-old who Castro said had appendicitis was allegedly told to wait three days for a doctor by a nurse.
During his January visit, Castro noticed no educational programs were being provided and told the company running the facility, CoreCivic, that education is mandatory. According to Castro, conditions have not improved since then and no schooling is being provided to the children.
“These kids are despondent, they’re depressed, they’re languishing,” Castro said. “There’s a brutality behind closed doors, behind the walls of these prisons. And people don’t see that. And that brutality is also very disturbing. And I don’t believe that most Americans would support it.”
Castro also said he requested to see the pregnant women held at the facility but believes they are being hidden. On Friday, he said they were taken off site to Laredo for doctor visits.
He said he will continue to push for the facility’s closure and for humane treatment of those detained.
After measles cases were reported inside the facility in January, Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said “it is a longstanding practice to provide comprehensive medical care” from the moment an immigrant enters custody, describing it as “the best medical care that many aliens have received in their entire lives.”
Also in January, Rep. Tony Gonzales, whose district includes the Dilley center, said he has seen the “state-of-the-art facilities” himself.
“I’ve been there & seen the state-of-the-art facilities & protocols that (ICE) follows,” Gonzales said in an X post. “Our ICE agents & CBP (U.S. Customs and Border Protection) personnel are doing their jobs.”
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