WORMY FOOD, INTIMIDATING GUARDS, SICK KIDS: INSIDE ICE’S ONLY FAMILY DETENTION CENTER
Stories about life inside Dilley are hard to come by. Journalists are not allowed inside, and until earlier this month, lawmakers were barred from conducting oversight visits unless they submitted an application a week in advance. The facility has reportedly clamped down on detainees’ access to the outside world, even confiscating art supplies; some detainees have lost access to Gmail. (The Department of Homeland Security and CoreCivic have denied these restrictions.)
Despite these challenges, there is another way to learn about the conditions at Dilley: sworn oral declarations given by dozens of detained children and their parents to legal aid groups.
Some of the declarations were exhibits in ongoing litigation; others were collected by RAICES, a nonprofit organization that provides legal services to families detained at Dilley, simply to provide a record. Taken together, they paint a bleak picture of life at the facility: stomach-turning food and water, a dangerous lack of medical and mental health care, impossible sleeping conditions, and intimidating treatment by guards. While the number of people held at Dilley dropped dramatically this month and educational options have improved, advocates say the abysmal conditions persist.
DHS and CoreCivic, meanwhile, have consistently refuted these claims. In late February, both groups published websites dedicated to Dilley, describing the detention center as a safe, family-friendly place where detainees have access to high-quality medical care, educational opportunities, toys, books, outdoor activities, and food for special diets and allergy needs. In a statement to Mother Jones, DHS added that drinking water is clean and baby formula is provided for free.
We went through hundreds of pages of the detainee declarations, which were made between June 2025 and February of this year, and pulled out some of the most telling excerpts. Many were translated into English by sworn interpreters.
“The reality is when we look back on this, these are the primary sources,” says Faisal Al-Juburi, co-CEO of RAICES. “These are the people who’ve been impacted by some of the cruelest aspects of this administration” …
