WHAT ICE DETENTION DOES TO A CHILD
Days after his family arrived at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas last summer, 13-year-old Carlos began experiencing nightmares that would leave him screaming for his mother, Ingrid, as many as five times a night. After a week in custody, the teenager began wetting the bed — something he had never done before, Ingrid said in a sworn declaration provided to The Cut by the legal non-profit RAICES. Concerned, she took Carlos to the detention center’s psychiatrist. The doctor “said that he pees at night because he drinks too much water during the evening, but that is not true,” Ingrid wrote in her declaration. Additionally, the psychiatrist chalked up Carlos’s night terrors to the movies he may have watched during the day, even though the teen said he didn’t really pay attention to the films. To help Carlos through the night, the doctor prescribed pills — Ingrid wasn’t sure which medication specifically — but now the 13-year-old would sleep until nearly noon and take naps throughout the rest of the day…
