I Recognize the Look on Liam Ramos’ Face
A March 2026 report in The Atlantic highlights the devastating impact of the Trump administration's revival of family detention at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas. The facility, operated by CoreCivic, has become a central node in a vast “deportation ecosystem” where thousands of children and parents—many with no criminal history—face mass incarceration while awaiting removal. Faisal Al-Juburi, Co-CEO of RAICES, condemns the practice as a “humanitarian crisis,” noting that the facility functions as a “warehouse” that inflicts permanent psychological trauma and medical neglect on minors. RAICES and other advocates argue that the prolonged confinement of families flagrantly violates the Flores Settlement Agreement and serves as a punitive deterrence campaign designed to coerce asylum seekers into self-deportation. By exposing these due process violations and the profound fiscal costs of private-prison contracts, the report underscores the urgent need for community-based alternatives that prioritize humanitarian protections over profit-driven detention.
