In Their Own Words: The Children at Dilley Tell Us They Are Suffering

May 19, 2026

Los Angeles – In a brief filed in federal court today, lawyers for children incarcerated at the Family Residential Treatment Center in Dilley, Texas (Dilley) describe the federal government’s most recent claims of compliance with the Flores Settlement Agreement (FSA) as “fanciful” and reiterate their concerns that children continue to be hungry, exhausted, anxious, and depressed. The Flores co-counsel team includes the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law, the National Center for Youth Law, and Children’s Rights.

On May 4, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) submitted a Juvenile Coordinator’s (JC) Report to U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee, the fifth it has filed since Dilley reopened last April. ICE asserts, as it has in its earlier reports, that there are no Flores violations at the facility. Plaintiff’s brief in response includes many recent sworn declarations from families detained at Dilley, including five children, who describe what life is actually like at Dilley. With these declarations, Plaintiffs have filed nearly 100 declarations over the last year.

“I have started to feel like all the days are the same. I keep a calendar in my notebook where I mark an ‘X’ next to each passing day to track how long I’ve been here. It makes me cry with anxiety that I might not get out of here.”
S.T.D.C. – A 15-year-old girl had been detained for 143 days when she met with Flores attorneys; this was her second incarceration at Dilley.

“If I could change one thing here, it would be to turn off the lights at night. I am hopeful that we can get out of here. I want to be able to see the messages on my phone and go to my house and play with my little brother.”
C.G.C.– A 13-year-old boy born abroad, who has lived in Florida his whole life, had been at Dilley for 90 days when he met with Flores attorneys.

“They didn’t tell us why our Dad wasn’t going with us or where he was going. I asked if I could give my Dad a hug goodbye, and they said no. I kept asking and asking – but they wouldn’t let me. That was the last time I saw him.”
J.A.I. – A 16-year-old boy who had been incarcerated at Dilley for 50 days when he met with Flores attorneys.

A heartbreaking theme resonates throughout the stories children and parents share: their ordeal has been psychologically devastating. Long lengths of stay have exacerbated the impact of detention on their mental health. A broad body of research shows children in detention regress in development, have high levels of anxiety and depression, and increased suicide attempts.

“That place was mentally devastating . . . My mom and my younger sister were suffering from medical neglect for many months there . . . my five-year-old sister had 13 cavities . . . she would cry and scream for several hours . . . Many times, people would stop eating for several days after finding mold or even worms in their food . . . Children had to watch as the officers and staff ate pizza, donuts, and outside food that the kids cried when they saw . . . We were there for almost a year.”
O.S. – A 16-year-old boy detained with his mom, older sister, 9-year-old sister, and 5-year-old twin sisters for 323 days.

**ICE Is Not Compliant with Flores Settlement Agreement**

The FSA requires the federal government to hold immigrant children in custody in the least restrictive setting, prioritize release to family, and provide access to basic necessities such as clean water, food, medical care, and safe, sanitary living conditions.

The FSA also requires children to be released from unlicensed facilities, like Dilley, without delay – which the district court has ruled generally means within 20 days. Yet, although plaintiffs have raised repeated concerns, ICE detained many hundreds of children at Dilley for more than 20 days in February and March for the same reasons that the court has previously found insufficient to justify prolonged detention. The average time in custody at Dilley is nearly 60 days, with many children languishing for more than 90 days. Children enroute to Dilley are also being held for long periods of time in inhumane border patrol stations and isolated hotel rooms in violation of the Court’s general 72-hour limit.

Despite requirements that children receive regular medical care, ICE routinely delays or denies such care, escalating minor health problems and putting children facing a health crisis at great risk. Since Dilley re-opened, families have raised medical care concerns to legal service providers at RAICES on at least 948 occasions.

Mothers report the food sometimes makes their children sick and is often inedible, especially for toddlers and babies. The water causes children to vomit or have diarrhea. ICE makes it impossible for children to have a good night’s sleep because the lights are on day and night, negatively impacting their mental and physical health. Older children are denied access to an adequate education and younger children have limited activities and toys. Crayons and drawings are treated like contraband. Children are not properly clothed and mothers have said their children’s shoes are falling apart.

Children are not being provided notice of their Flores rights, nor are they receiving the required free phone calls to their families or attorneys. Families repeatedly share that they feel completely in the dark about what is happening to them at Dilley. They report that the internet and email restrictions make it difficult to work on their immigration cases or advocate for themselves. Limited interpretation services for non-English and non-Spanish speakers exacerbate the challenges for these families.

– “We have bad sleep here; the lights hit our eyes all night. We feel like caged chickens in an incubator.”

– “I worry for my son’s mental state . . . he’s waking up at night very frightened and scared and crying a lot.”

– “Not having toys here is one of the things that makes my son feel like he is in jail.”

– “If I could change one thing here it would be to shut down the whole facility.”

There is no greater indictment of the government’s actions at Dilley than the sworn statements of the parents and children who have courageously spoken about what they have endured.

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The Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law (CHRCL) is a legal non-profit committed to protecting and advancing the rights of immigrants through legal action, advocacy, and education. Through impact litigation, we challenge unlawful immigration policies to drive systemic change and establish stronger legal protections for immigrants. At the local, state, and federal levels, we advocate for fair and humane policies that uphold the rights of all immigrants. For more information, please visit centerforhumanrights.org.

The National Center for Youth Law centers youth through research, community collaboration, impact litigation, and policy advocacy that fundamentally transforms our nation’s approach to education, health, immigration, foster care, and youth justice. Our vision is a world in which every child thrives and has a full and fair opportunity to achieve the future they envision for themselves. For more information, please visit youthlaw.org.

Children’s Rights is a national advocacy organization dedicated to improving the lives of children living in or impacted by America’s child welfare, juvenile legal, immigration, education, and healthcare systems. We use civil rights impact litigation, advocacy and policy expertise, and public education to hold governments accountable for keeping kids safe and healthy. Our work centers on creating lasting systemic change that will advance the rights of children for generations. For more information, please visit childrensrights.org.

Media Contacts

Edward Barsoumian, Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law, press@centerforhumanrights.org

Pacifica Strategies, National Center for Youth Law, youthlaw@pacificastrategies.com

Camilla Jenkins, Children’s Rights, cjenkins@childrensrights.org

In Their Own Words: The Children at Dilley Tell Us They Are Suffering

ICE Is Not Compliant with Flores Settlement Agreement

Media Contacts

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**ICE Is Not Compliant with Flores Settlement Agreement**