ICE Detention Center Puts Immigrant Children at Risk, Reports Say

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New revelations about conditions at a Texas detention facility for immigrant families have raised ongoing concerns from attorneys representing children.

The details are part of a lawsuit over the government attempting to end protections for children. Declarations from families held at the facility in Dilley, Texas, which was reopened in March, described persistently cloudy water, delayed medical attention and long periods of time children are being detained.

Allegations of children fighting adults for clean water, distracted children and a protracted medical response first surfaced during the summer while the federal government asked a federal judge to end a policy protecting immigrant children.

US District Judge Dolly Gee in Los Angeles, who presides over the case, heard arguments from the government, which wants to end the Flores Settlement agreement. The policy limits how long Customs and Border Protection can hold immigrant children and requires safe and sanitary conditions. After Gee told the government last month to provide detention times, Immigration and Customs Enforcement reported that the number of children in custody over 72 hours decreased from an average of six days to five days in June and July, respectively. The “vast majority” spent less than 72 hours in CBP custody, the report stated.

Attorneys representing the children reviewed the report and said some children are still being held for several weeks or months and often without justification. About 65 families spoke to attorneys since Dilley opened.

“A huge percentage of families at Dilley are being apprehended from across the country as they dutifully appear for their immigration court hearings and ICE check-ins,” Leecia Welch, the deputy legal director at Children’s Rights who spoke with families, told The Associated Press in a statement.

The tap water is cloudy, smells strange and upset stomachs, the families told their attorneys. The hand soap the facility provides for showers has been causing rashes, the families said. Children also struggle eating the food, like the snacks of graham crackers, apples, juice and milk.