Castro Leads 110 Democrats in Demanding Dilley Trailer Prison Be Shut Down

Castro Leads 110 Democrats in Demanding Dilley Trailer Prison Be Shut Down

WASHINGTON, D.C. -Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20) led a group of 111 Democratic House members in a nationwide call to end family detention and shut down the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in South Texas. In the letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin, the lawmakers highlight the brutality of family detention and the lasting trauma inflicted on children.

The lawmakers outlined the conditions at the facility leading to lasting trauma, writing, "Parents describe horrendous conditions at Dilley, leading to severe depression, hopelessness, and suicidal ideation amongst their children. Children have reported that their food is often contaminated with worms and mold and that they feel sick after drinking tap water. Families also report not being able to sleep at night because the lights are kept on in their rooms throughout the night….Medical care provided by CoreCivic staff is delayed, denied, and in many cases outright dismissed, even when children are suffering life-threatening medical emergencies."

The lawmakers highlighted DHS's violations of court-ordered protections of children's rights, writing, "Despite this cruelty, your agency violates the Flores Settlement Agreement by routinely detaining children and families past the general 20-day detention limitation governed by the Flores Settlement Agreement (FSA). The FSA requires that children in immigration custody must be held in the least restrictive setting appropriate to their needs and be detained no longer than 20 days in unlicensed facilities. The Trump Administration consistently and systematically violates these requirements."

The lawmakers called on DHS to terminate its contract with CoreCivic and shut down the facility, writing, "Many kids cannot comprehend why their lives suddenly went from spending their days at school learning and playing with their friends to being imprisoned at Dilley with no end in sight. We demand that you terminate CoreCivic's contract to operate the Dilley facility and shut down the Dilley Immigration Processing Center immediately."

BACKGROUND:

The Biden Administration shut down Dilley in June 2024 after several human rights violation concerns were raised, such as inhumane conditions inflicting trauma on children, women, and families. Since January 2026, Congressman Castro has conducted six congressional oversight visits to the Dilley Trailer Prison to inspect conditions and meet with mothers, children, and fathers.

Congressman Castro added, "No child should be in a place like the Dilley Trailer Prison. Under Trump, ICE is ripping children away from their families, school, and lives. They are given food and water that makes them sick. The lights never go off and they can't sleep. When they need medical care, they are often ignored. So many kids I met with, like Liam Ramos, are depressed. They don't understand what they've done wrong to be locked away. They should be treated like kids-not criminals. I am grateful that over 100 of my colleagues in Congress are joining the fight to shut down the Dilley Trailer Prison. Dilley must be shut down and we will not stop until we free the children."

The letter is co-signed by: Gabe Amo (RI-01), Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03), Nanette Barragán (CA-44), Wesley Bell (MO-01), Ami Bera (CA-06), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Julia Brownley (CA-26), Salud Carbajal (CA-24), André Carson (IN-07), Greg Casar (TX-35), Judy Chu (CA-28), Gilbert Cisneros (CA-31), Yvette Clarke (NY-09), Emanuel Cleaver (MO-05), Herb Conaway (NJ-03), Lou Correa (CA-46), Angie Craig (MN-02), Jasmine Crockett (TX-30), Madeleine Dean (PA-04), Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Chris Deluzio (PA-17), Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10), Maxine Dexter (OR-03), Lloyd Doggett (TX-37), Veronica Escobar (TX-16), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Dwight Evans (PA-03), Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07), Maxwell Frost (FL-10), John Garamendi (CA-08), Jesús G. "Chuy" García (IL-04), Robert Garcia (CA-42), Sylvia Garcia (TX-29), Daniel Goldman (NY-10), Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), Al Green (TX-09), Adelita Grijalva (AZ-07), Jahana Hayes (CT-05), Pablo Hernández (PR-AL), Steven Horsford (NV-04), Val Hoyle (OR-04), Glenn Ivey (MD-04), Jonathan Jackson (IL-01), Sara Jacobs (CA-51), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Hank Johnson (GA-04), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37), Ro Khanna (CA-17), Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), John Larson (CT-01), George Latimer (NY-16), Summer Lee (PA-12), Teresa Leger Fernández (NM-03), Mike Levin (CA-49), Sam Liccardo (CA-16), Zoe Lofgren (CA-18), Stephen Lynch (MA-08), Doris Matsui (CA-07), Sarah McBride (DE-AL), April McClain Delaney (MD-06), Betty McCollum (MN-04), Morgan McGarvey (KY-03), James McGovern (MA-02), LaMonica McIver (NJ-10), Analilia Mejia (NJ-11), Christian Menefee (TX-18), Rob Menendez (NJ-08), Grace Meng (NY-06), Kweisi Mfume (MD-07), Kelly Morrison (MN-03), Seth Moulton (MA-06), Jerrold Nadler (NY-12), Richard Neal (MA-01), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-AL), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Frank Pallone (NJ-06), Nancy Pelosi (CA-11), Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Nellie Pou (NJ-09), Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Mike Quigley (IL-05), Delia Ramirez (IL-03), Emily Randall (WA-06), Luz Rivas (CA-29), Deborah Ross (NC-02), Andrea Salinas (OR-06), Linda Sánchez (CA-38), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Terri Sewell (AL-07), Lateefah Simon (CA-12), Darren Soto (FL-09), Melanie Stansbury (NM-01), Greg Stanton (AZ-04), Mark Takano (CA-39), Shri Thanedar (MI-13), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Jill Tokuda (HI-02), Paul Tonko (NY-20), Ritchie Torres (NY-15), Lori Trahan (MA-03), Juan Vargas (CA-52), Gabe Vasquez (NM-02), Marc Veasey (TX-33), Nydia Velázquez (NY-07), James Walkinshaw (VA-11), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), Nikema Williams (GA-05), Frederica Wilson (FL-24).

Read the full letter here.