DILLEY, Texas – A Churchill High School student and her father were released from the Dilley South Texas Family Residential Center, U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro said Tuesday.
Emely Charloth Suaza Chambo, 16, was detained on July 12, according to a news release.
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“I am glad that she is back with her mom, little brothers and the rest of her family,” Castro said in the release.
During Castro’s visit to the ICE facility in Dilley on July 28, he spoke with Chambo.
Chambo and a friend were on their way to a San Antonio church before an ICE agent detained them both, according to Castro. However, Chambo was the only one taken to a local immigration processing center.
Castro said ICE told her father, Fernando Suaza Ortiz, to pick her up or she would be sent out of state.
When the father showed up, he was also detained, Castro said. He worked at a Hilton Garden Inn.
KSAT reached out to ICE for additional details regarding their detainment and has not heard back.
Castro has spent months campaigning to close the ICE facility in Dilley.
Castro and other congressional leaders cited worsening conditions for detainees, including “inadequate” bedding, food and water.
CoreCivic, a private company that operates the building in Dilley, said the facility is monitored closely by government partners to ensure full compliance with policies and procedures.
“We do provide a safe, humane and appropriate environment for the individuals in our care,” Ryan Gustin, spokesperson for CoreCivic, said in a statement sent to KSAT on July 28.
Gustin said the facility provides “quality healthcare, educational programs, daily nutritious meals and access to legal services.”
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