Toddler Denied Access to Life-Saving Medication in ICE Custody
The toddler and her parents were apprehended in December during a routine U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) check-in appointment before being transferred to the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in remote south Texas—the nation's sole operating family detention facility—court documents reveal.
Previously healthy, the child developed a cascade of severe conditions including pneumonia, COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus and acute respiratory distress requiring January hospitalization, the legal filing states.
Following her discharge after 10 days of inpatient treatment, detention authorities denied the toddler "access to the medication that doctors prescribed for her at the hospital," the lawsuit alleges. Medical specialists who examined her clinical records warned she faced "extreme danger" with "high risk for medical decompensation and death," media reported.
An emergency habeas corpus petition secured the family's Friday release, though their attorney noted ICE continues holding the child's prescriptions and birth certificate.
"DEEPLY TROUBLING"
The case has reignited alarm over Dilley, where detainee numbers have exploded from under 500 in October to 1,332 by late January, according to DetentionReportsdata. Austin Kocher, assistant research professor at Syracuse University, estimates roughly 800 current detainees are minors.
Immigration attorney Eric Lee, who toured the compound in late January, characterized Dilley conditions as "deeply troubling." U.S. Representative Joaquin Castro termed his observations "inhumanity."
Detained children reported insufficient food, tainted water, inadequate healthcare and restricted educational access at Dilley, according to ProPublica, a nonprofit investigative journalism organization.
Concerns extend beyond Dilley. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) disclosed Monday that a Palestinian woman detained by ICE in Texas since March was hospitalized Friday after suffering a seizure. Her legal team reported she endured dizziness, fainting spells and malnutrition-linked symptoms during custody.
Attorneys said ICE failed notifying the woman's family and counsel of her medical emergency and location following hospitalization.
Prolonged detention traps some immigrants in ICE custody despite voluntary departure agreements. Ana Alicia Huerta, senior attorney at the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice, told local media certain detainees await court proceedings after signing voluntary deportation paperwork.
While the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2001 that immigration detention shouldn't be indefinite—establishing six months as presumptively reasonable—DHS maintains its policies comply with law, citing judicial authorization for continued detention without bond.
Media outlets have documented at least six immigrant deaths in ICE detention centers across the United States thus far in 2026. One case initially classified as suicide by ICE was subsequently ruled homicide by local authorities. In two additional fatalities, relatives and lawyers have challenged whether detainees received prompt medical intervention, raising delayed-care allegations.
Federal law and DHS appropriations statutes mandate ICE provide comprehensive mortality reports within 90 days of detainee deaths. Yet since October, the agency has failed fulfilling this requirement for at least eight detention center fatalities, Zeteo reported.
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