Media Contact John Henry, jhenry@childrensdefense.org, Media Relations Manager, 708-646-7679
AUSTIN, TX—Children’s Defense Fund-Texas (CDF-Texas) and its youth and immigrant advocacy partners warn that President Donald Trump’s decision to reopen detention facilities in Texas to jail immigrant families could create an array of negative physical and mental impacts for children.
On Friday, journalists reported the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is reopening two privately-run detention facilities to hold immigrant families: the South Texas Family Residential Center (known as “Dilley”) in Dilley, Texas, and the Karnes County Residential Center in Karnes City, Texas. Dilley alone has the capacity to detain up to 2,400 people. This news follows recent reports that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) plans to target migrant families and unaccompanied children for arrest and deportation.
Even when brief, being detained can be traumatizing for children and create negative, long-term impacts on their physical and mental health that continue after they are released. Research shows detained children experience developmental delays, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation.
Under the first Trump administration, documented abuse and neglect at family detention facilities included lack of adequate medical care, sexual harassment and assault of detainees by guards, and threats to separate children from their parents if they misbehaved. The American Academy of Pediatrics said DHS facilities like Karnes and Dilley failed to “meet the basic standards for the care of children in residential settings.” During the time they previously held families, reports of sexual and physical assaults emerged at these facilities, and in one instance, an immigrant toddler died following her detention in Dilley.
CDF-TX strongly opposes child and family detention, along with its partners, ACLU of Texas, the Immigrant Legal Resources Center and Texas Immigration Law Council. Trudy Taylor Smith, Esq., Senior Administrator of Policy and Advocacy for CDF-TX:
“Jailing children, including babies, is unconscionable. The traumatizing experience of imprisonment could negatively impact a child’s life-long ability to thrive emotionally and psychologically. Moreover, immigrant parents and their children have been horribly neglected and abused at these same facilities in the past, and there are no accountability structures in place to prevent that from continuing. Escalating ICE raids have already harmed Texas children by deterring fearful immigrant families from sending their children to school or seeking out medical care when they need it. Locking up families—including those who have been part of local communities for years—will cause even more devastating harm to children while tearing communities apart. All children deserve safety, dignity,
and care. Instead of spending taxpayer money to put children and their parents behind bars in inhumane conditions, our state and federal leaders should focus on protecting children and families by funding access to the health care, nutrition assistance, and other resources they need to thrive.”
Katy Murdza, Texas Regional Organizer, Immigrant Legal Resources Center:
“The Trump administration’s version of keeping families together means detaining a parent and a child in the same facility while separating them from other close relatives. Resuming family detention at the Dilley facility means families are in danger of being denied due process, subjected to dehumanizing treatment and causing retraumatization and behavioral regression, as was seen in prior family detention cases. The amount of money being funneled to detain families could instead be used to help so many Texas families in need of basic services, given the economic harms the Abbott and Trump administrations are employing.”
Kristin Etter, Director of Policy and Legal Services, Texas Immigration Law Council:
“As Texans who value strong families and responsible and ethical governance, we oppose the return of family detention, a cruel, costly and ineffective policy that harms children and goes against our values. Imprisoning parents and kids inflicts unnecessary suffering, devastates our communities, and weakens our economy by removing contributing members from society and disrupting local businesses. Expanding the government’s power to jail families in inhumane conditions echoes dark chapters of history, where vulnerable people were imprisoned rather than protected. We urge policymakers to reject this inhumane approach and stand for policies that respect human dignity and Texas principles.”
Dave Donatti, Senior Staff Attorney, ACLU of Texas:
“History shows what common sense and fundamental decency require: we should never cage families. Families belong together, and communities do, too. Instead of allowing human beings to live freely, work, learn, and flourish, the Trump Administration will funnel millions of dollars to private prison contractors. This act will be another stain
on our national conscience.”