Durbin Reveals Devastating Insights Into Dilley Detention Facility, Calls On Judiciary Republicans To Hold Committee Oversight Hearing On The Treatment Of Children And Families[...]

Durbin Reveals Devastating Insights Into Dilley Detention Facility, Calls On Judiciary Republicans To Hold Committee Oversight Hearing On The Treatment Of Children And Families In ICE Detention

Staff site visits provide new insight into the cruelty of the illegal Trump mass deportation agenda on children & families, including inhumane conditions, deficient medical care, and difficulty accessing legal counsel

NAPERVILLE - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released devastating insights into conditions at the South Texas Family Residential Center (Dilley) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility. The visits to Dilley provided new, incriminating insights into the cruelty of the illegal Trump mass deportation agenda, including inhumane conditions, deficient medical care, taunting children, inadequate education for school-age children, and difficulty accessing legal counsel for families and children.

Given these findings, Durbin is calling on Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Border Security and Immigration Chairman John Coryn (R-TX) to hold a hearing on the troubling conditions at Dilley. Upon arrival at Dilley, Durbin's staff were informed of an arbitrary two-hour time limit on visiting the facility.

Durbin wrote, "Today, I am releasing a fact sheet documenting findings and observations from my staff's visit to Dilley… My staff visited Dilley as part of an ongoing investigation into medical and mental health care, solitary confinement, and access to counsel in immigration detention. During that visit, in an attempt to curtail oversight, DHS imposed an arbitrary two-hour time limit on visiting the facility. My staff nevertheless spoke to families detained at Dilley, documenting systemic medical neglect, including children who were denied treatment for serious medical conditions and experienced delayed emergency care."

Durbin continued, "Children and their parents described a top-down culture of cruelty among Dilley staff, including guards deliberately disrupting children's sleep at night, purposely entering rooms without knocking, and taunting children who are often provided with inedible food by eating candy and pizza in front of them. My staff also documented undrinkable water, inadequate education for school-age children, and prolonged detention that in many cases appears to violate the FloresSettlement Agreement."

Durbin concluded, "Given the reported imminent expansion of family detention, and the mounting toll of detention on children and families detained at Dilley, I believe a Committee hearing is warranted."

Key observations from the site visit include:

• The families and women that staff interviewed described substandard medical care, inadequate food, undrinkable water, disrupted sleep, rude and dismissive guards, confusion about legal processes, and limitations on communication with family members outside of Dilley.
• Detained families also reported a top-down culture of cruelty by Dilley staff.
• Unsurprisingly, children who were thriving academically prior to detention are now languishing, with no meaningful attempts by the facility to provide adequate education.

For a PDF copy of the staff report into Dilley, click here.

For a copy of the letter to Grassley and Cornyn, click here.

Durbin has continuously spoken out against the Trump Administration's mass deportation campaign. Last year, Durbin's staff released a report examining the devasting insights into two Florida immigration detention facilities and a report with similar findings about facilities in Louisiana.

On Wednesday, Durbin hosted a spotlight forum entitled "The Cruelty Is the Point: The Deadly Legacy of ICE Detention Under President Trump." The forum, which featured testimony from Ricardo Hernandez-Navarrete, a Chicago student who was detained for two months and experienced harsh conditions in ICE facilities, examined how the Trump Administration's cruel immigration policies have led to a 22-year high for the rate of deaths in federal detention. Last year, under the Trump Administration's leadership, more than 30 people died in ICE custody, and at least 22 people have died this year, putting 2026 on pace to exceed 2025's record.

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