SAN ANTONIO – A teenage girl from San Antonio, and her father, are currently detained in the Dilley South Texas Family Residential Center, U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro said Tuesday during a news conference.
Castro and four other members of Congress visited detainees to talk about the conditions inside the ICE facility. During the two hour visit Castro says he saw worsening health conditions from his previous visits.
U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley said 539 people are currently held in the facility. Castro said the last time he visited, there were less than 100 people there.
Among the current detainees, Pressley says there are 84 families and at least one is from San Antonio.
A 16-year-old girl spoke with Castro and stated she was detained on her way to a San Antonio church with a friend. She was taken to a local processing center and spent two days there.
Immigration authorities called her father to let her know she was detained, according to Castro.
“They told her dad they we’re going to send her out of state if he didn’t pick her up,” Castro said. “He could pick her up and take her home.”
When the father showed up, he was also detained, Castro said.
KSAT has reached out to Castro’s office for additional details regarding the detained family from San Antonio and will update once we receive more information.
Conditions at the facility
Tuesday marks Castro’s seventh visit to the ICE facility in Dilley. Throughout those visits, a common issue Castro expressed was concerns about worsening conditions inside the facility.
Members of Congress who visited also invited Dr. Anita K. Patel, a pediatric critical care attending physician. She described her job as someone who recognizes threats to children’s health and treats children when they’re critically ill.
“The children detained are experiencing severe, predictable and lasting harm,” Patel said. She cited “inadequate bedding, inadequate food and inadequate water” as some of the issues she observed.
CoreCivic, a private company, partners with the federal government to provide ICE the detention facility where detainees are held as they go through their legal due process.
In a statement, the company said the facility is monitored closely by government partners to make sure they ensure full compliance with policies and procedures.
“We do provide a safe, humane and appropriate environment for the individuals in our care,” Ryan Gustin, spokesperson for CoreCivic, said in the statement.
Gustin said the facility provides “quality healthcare, educational programs, daily nutritious meals and access to legal services.”
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