The Children of Dilley
This ProPublica investigation provides an immersive look inside the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas, drawing on interviews and letters from dozens of detained children and their parents to document the psychological and physical toll of prolonged detention. The reporter gained access to the facility and corresponded with over three dozen children, whose letters describe constant illness, moldy and worm-filled food, inadequate medical care, crushing boredom, depression, and deep fear about their futures — with some children self-harming or expressing suicidal thoughts. The stories are strikingly similar: families detained during routine ICE check-ins or at hospitals and bus stops, many with pending asylum cases or legal pathways to residency, sent to a facility nearly 2,000 miles from their homes with little warning and no chance to contact family. Among those profiled are 14-year-old Ariana, separated from her two young siblings in New York for 45 days; 9-year-old Maria Antonia, whose Disney World vacation became 100 days in detention; and 13-year-old Gustavo, who pleaded "don't forget about us." Despite DHS and CoreCivic's assurances of humane treatment, the accounts paint a picture of a system that is detaining children well beyond the court-ordered 20-day limit, in conditions a federal judge described as "unnecessarily cruel," as part of what lawyers describe as a mass deportation strategy that prioritizes numbers over the law.