In 2026, the "ordinary" lives of immigrant children are being systematically dismantled.
After family detention was largely phased out in 2021, the second Trump administration has revived the practice, resulting in a tenfold increase in the number of children held in ICE custody.
From the high-security gates of the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, mothers and children report a harrowing reality of medical neglect, psychological trauma and the long confinement in these centers.
This is a look inside the "black box" of family immigration detention—and the brave voices breaking the silence.
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“We have been here for nine months. I really miss playing with my toys and my watch. Please get us out of here.”
“I have friends, school and family here in the United States. … To this day, I don’t know what we did wrong to be detained. … I feel like I’ll never get out of here. I just ask that you don’t forget about us.”
“In one minute our entire lives were changed and our plans and dreams were destroyed … This place broke something in us. Something that I don’t know if we will ever be able to fix.”
The post Voices From Dilley: The Stolen Ordinary of Detained Children appeared first on Ms. Magazine.