New insight into Texas family detention reveals adults fighting kids for clean water
Families shared their testimonies with immigrant advocates filing a lawsuit to prevent the Trump administration from terminating the Flores Settlement Agreement, a '90s-era policy that requires immigrant children detained in federal custody be held in safe and sanitary conditions.
The agreement could challenge U.S. President Donald Trump's family detention provisions in his 'big, beautiful' bill of tax breaks and spending cuts, which also seeks to made the detention time indefinite and comes as the administration ramps up arrests.
'At a time when Congress is considering funding the indefinite detention of children and families, defending the Flores Settlement is more urgent than ever,' Mishan Wroe, a senior immigration attorney at the National Centre for Youth Law, said in a statement Friday.
Advocates with the centre, as well as the Centre for Human Rights and Constitutional Law, RAICES and Children's Rights contacted or visited children and their families held in two Texas family detention centres in Dilley and Karnes, which reopened earlier this year.
The conditions of the family detention facilities were undisclosed until immigration attorneys filed an opposing motion Friday night before a California federal court.
The oversight of the detention facilities was possible because of the settlement, and the visits help ensure standards compliance and transparency, said Sergio Perez, the executive director of the Centre for Human Rights and Constitutional Law. Without the settlement, those overseeing the facilities would lose access to them and could not document what is happening inside.
Out of 90 families who spoke to RAICES since March, 40 expressed medical concerns, according to the court documents. Several testimonies expressed concern over water quantity and quality.
Family Detention
FILE - In this Sept. 10, 2014, file photo, detained immigrant children line up in the cafeteria at the Karnes County Residential Center, a detention center for immigrant families, in Karnes City, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
(Eric Gay/AP)
Emails seeking comment were sent to the Office of Attorney General Pam Bondi and to CoreCivic and Geo Group, which operate the detention facilities in Dilley and Karnes, Texas, respectively. There was no response from either Bondi's office or the operators of the facilities by midday Saturday.
One mother was told she would have to use tap water for formula for her 9-month-old, who had diarrhea for three days after, and a 16-year-old girl described people scrambling over each other for water.
'We don't get enough water. They put out a little case of water, and everyone has to run for it,' said the declaration from the girl held with her mother and two younger siblings at the Karnes County Immigration Processing Centre. 'An adult here even pushed my little sister out of the way to get to the water first.'
Faisal Al-Juburi, chief external affairs officer for RAICES, said Friday in a statement that the conditions 'only serve to reinforce the vital need for transparent and enforceable standards and accountability measures,' citing an 'unconscionable obstruction of medical care for those with acute, chronic, and terminal illnesses.'
One family with a young boy with cancer said he missed his doctor's appointment after the family was arrested following their attendance to an immigration court hearing. He is now experiencing relapse symptoms, according to the motion. Another family said their 9-month old lost over 8 pounds (3.6 kilograms) while in detention for a month.
Children spoke openly about their trauma during visits with legal monitors, including a 12-year-old boy with a blood condition. He reported his feet became too inflamed to walk, and even though he saw a doctor, he was denied further testing. Now, he stays mostly off his feet. 'It hurts when I walk,' he said in a court declaration.
Arrests have left psychological trauma. A mother of a 3-year-old boy who saw agents go inside his babysitter's home with guns started acting differently after detention. She said he now throws himself on the ground, bruises himself and refuses to eat most days.
Growing concerns as ICE ramps up operations
Many of the the families in detention were already living in the U.S. which reflects the recent shift from immigration arrests at the border to internal operations.
Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff and main architect of Trump's immigration policies, said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers would target at least 3,000 arrests a day, up from about 650 a day during the first five months of Trump's second term.
Leecia Welch, the deputy legal director at Children's Rights said that as bad as facility conditions are, they will only get worse as more immigrants are brought in.
'As of early June, the census at Dilley was around 300 and only two of its five areas were open,' Welch said of her visits. 'With a capacity of around 2,400 – it's hard to imagine what it would be like with 2,000 more people.'
Pediatricians like Dr. Marsha Griffin with the American Academy of Pediatrics Council said they are concerned and are advocating across the country to allow pediatric monitors with child welfare experts inside the facilities.
Future of detention without Flores agreement
The Flores agreement is poised to become more relevant if Trump's legislation called the ' One Big Beautiful Bill Act ' passes with the current language allowing the indefinite detention of immigrant families, which is not allowed under the Flores agreement.
Trump's legislation approved by the House also proposes setting aside US$45 billion in funding, a threefold spending increase, over the next four years to expand ICE detention of adults and families. The Senate is now considering that legislation.
Under these increased efforts to add more detention space, GeoGroup, the same corporation operating the detention facility in Karnes, will soon be opening an infamous prison — which housed gangsters Al Capone and Machine Gun Kelly — for migrant detention in Leavenworth, Kansas.
Immigration advocates argue that if the settlement were terminated, the government would need to create regulations that conform to the agreement's terms.
'Plaintiffs did not settle for policy making— they settled for rulemaking," the motion read.
The federal government will have a chance to submit a reply brief. A court hearing is later scheduled for mid-July.
By Valerie Gonzalez.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
12 hours ago
- CTV News
Environmental concerns could halt construction at Florida's ‘Alligator Alcatraz' immigration jail
Work progresses on the Dade-Collier Training and Transition facility in the Florida Everglades, July 4, 2025, in Ochopee, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, file) MIAMI — Construction of a makeshift immigrant detention centre in the Florida Everglades dubbed ' Alligator Alcatraz ' could be halted indefinitely as a federal judge considered Wednesday whether the hasty development on sensitive wetlands violated environmental laws. Last week, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams ordered a two-week halt on additional construction at the site while witnesses testify. The temporary order doesn't include any restrictions on law enforcement or immigration enforcement activity. The first phase of 'Alligator Alcatraz' opened in July atop a lightly used, single-runway training airport. Less than 1,000 detainees were being held there as of last week, and it's designed to eventually hold up to 3,000 detainees. U.S. President Donald Trump toured the facility last month and suggested it could be a model for future lockups nationwide as his administration races to expand the infrastructure necessary for increasing deportations. 'Alcatraz' in a swamp Inside the compound's large white tents, rows of bunkbeds are surrounded by chain-link cages. People held there say worms turn up in the food, toilets don't flush and flood floors with fecal waste, while mosquitoes and other insects are everywhere. At times the air conditioners abruptly shut off in the sweltering heat. Detainees are said to go days without showering or getting prescription medicine, and can only speak to lawyers and loved ones by phone. The detention centre has an estimated annual cost of US$450 million, according to a public database. Gov. Ron DeSantis has said the location in the rugged and remote Everglades was meant as a deterrent from escape, much like the island prison in California that Republicans named it after. Who runs 'Alligator Alcatraz,' Washington or Florida? Williams last week said the detention facility was, at a minimum, a joint partnership between the state and federal government. Plaintiffs presented witnesses Wednesday and Thursday who testified that the facility violates the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires federal agencies to assess the environmental effects of major construction projects. Environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe want the judge to issue a preliminary injunction to halt operations and further construction, which they say threatens environmentally sensitive wetlands that are home to protected plants and animals and would reverse billions of dollars' worth of environmental restoration. Attorneys for the state and federal government say that although the detention centre would hold federal detainees, its construction and operation is entirely under the state of Florida, meaning a federal environmental review wouldn't apply. Attorneys for federal and state agencies last month asked Williams to dismiss or transfer the injunction request, saying the lawsuit was filed in the wrong jurisdiction. Williams had yet to rule on that argument. Witnesses describe environmental threats Witnesses for the environmental groups have testified that at least 20 acres (8 hectares) of asphalt have been added to the site since the Florida Division of Emergency Management began construction. They said additional paving could lead to an increase in water runoff to the adjacent wetlands, spread harmful chemicals into the Everglades and reduce the habitat for endangered Florida panthers. Marcel Bozas, director of the Miccosukee Tribe's fish and wildlife department, said tribe members hunt and fish for subsistence and cultural reasons. He said sustained human activity can drive away game animals as well as protected species. State official says Florida runs centre Washington doesn't tell Florida where to detain immigrants, and the Everglades facility was built to alleviate overcrowding at other lockups, said David Kerner, the head of the state's Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Kerner couldn't say how many of the 'Alligator Alcatraz' detainees have been charged with violent crimes or whether any other sites besides the middle of the Everglades were considered for possible detention centres. Facility faces a second legal challenge Over the weekend, a federal judge gave the state until late September to prepare arguments against an effort to get the civil rights litigation certified as a class action. That second lawsuit claims detainees' constitutional rights are being violated because they are barred from meeting lawyers, are being held without any charges, and a federal immigration court has cancelled bond hearings. The lawsuits were being heard as DeSantis′ administration apparently was preparing to build a second immigration detention centre at a Florida National Guard training centre in north Florida. David Fischer, The Associated Press
13 hours ago
On emotional 4th anniversary of Taliban takeover in Kabul, Afghan refugees in Toronto reflect
Malalai Azimee remembers crossing a river and climbing a wall, feeling fearful with her three daughters by her side as she tried to reach officials at the airport and escape the Taliban regime in August 2021. Aug. 15 marks four years since the Taliban captured Afghanistan's capital city Kabul only hours after U.S. troops withdrew. Azimee is just one of many Afghans who found refuge in Toronto but now worry their families won't be afforded the same opportunity. The journey was full of fear, uncertainty, frustration, said Azimee, who was a social worker and women's rights activist before she fled. Once we arrived we felt safe. And finally we thought, 'we don't have to fear anymore, we are in safety now.' Canada welcomed over 55,000 Afghans between August 2021 and November 2024, according to the federal government (new window) . While Canada ended its years-long military mission in 2014, U.S. troops were in the country until 2020. Shortly after they left and the Taliban took control, then-immigration minister Marco Mendicino said the country would be accepting 20,000 Afghan refugees, 5,000 of whom were evacuated by the U.S. (new window) But, according to the federal government, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada isn't accepting any more applications (new window) — a tough reality for many like Azimee, who left behind her siblings and parents. She said she's praying for her family to come safely to live with her in Canada. Emotional anniversary for Afghan refugees Sajad Amini, co-president of the Afghan Students' Association at the University of Toronto — which strives to create a safe and welcoming space for other Afghan students — also fled after the Taliban takeover. He says this anniversary is emotional. I was there when the government collapsed, he said. I'm very worried about those Afghans who still remain under the rule of [the] Taliban. Amini's family is currently in Pakistan, where he says they live in fear of deportation. And while he's grateful he settled in Toronto, he doesn't think Canada is doing enough to help other refugees escape the regime. Honouring those sacrifices means standing with partners such as the journalists [and] civil rights activists who are now stuck … waiting for their sponsorship cases to be processed by the Canadian government, Amini said. A spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said the federal government has helped more than 59,000 Afghans come to Canada since the fall of Kabul in August 2021 though its Afghan Resettlement initiative, a series of special measures aimed at protecting some of the most vulnerable people in Afghanistan. Although intake for these specific programs is now closed, IRCC continues to prioritize processing of eligible applications already received, the spokesperson said. Enlarge image (new window) Sajad Amini, co-president of the Afghan Students' Association at the University of Toronto — which strives to create a safe and welcoming space for other Afghan students — fled after the Taliban takeover. He says this anniversary is emotional. Photo: CBC / Talia Ricci Giving back to the country Azimee arrived in Canada in the last week of August 2021 and was greeted by Canadian Connections, a non-profit formed around the time of the takeover as a resettlement team for Afghan-Canadians. Now, Azimee works there. Such a welcome is key to successful integration and resettlement, according to Marcella Tomas, the non-profit's executive director. She says many Afghans arrived with nothing on their back. So the Canadian Connections volunteers went to Walmart, where they bought shoes, razors and any other essentials. Now, four years later, Tomas says she's seen some incredible success stories. When they come, the first thing they want to do is just give back to the country that's helped them, they want to find a job, she said. Enlarge image (new window) A proper welcome is key to successful integration and resettlement, according to Marcella Tomas, Canadian Connections' executive director. Photo: CBC / Talia Ricci 'Humanitarian crisis' unfolding, Afghan student says But back home, the situation continues to be dire. Since the Taliban took full control, the regime has continuously repressed human rights. Last year, the Islamic fundamentalist group closed all national and foreign non-governmental groups in Afghanistan (new window) that employ women in a continued effort to restrict Afghan women from working (new window) . In 2022, the Taliban also ordered (new window) that Afghan women wear all-covering burkas in public and decreed women must be accompanied by a man of their family whenever they are out in public. WATCH | Advocates worry as Canada quietly shutters Special Immigration Measures program : A humanitarian crisis is unfolding right before our eyes, says Amini. Girls are denied access to basic rights, they don't have access to school, work and even public life, he said. Afghanistan was once my home, Amini said. We need to do our advocacy work and hopefully one day we can do something for … our country. Gabriela Silva Ponte (new window) · CBC News · Journalist Gabriela Silva Ponte has been with CBC Toronto Local News since January 2025, at first in an internship capacity and afterwards as an Editorial Assistant. Previously, she worked in Portuguese media, CBC Dragons' Den and her university's school newspaper and radio station. She graduated from Toronto Metropolitan University with a Bachelor of Journalism and minors in Criminology and Politics. You can reach her at With files from Talia Ricci
CBC
17 hours ago
- CBC
Conservatives vow to introduce bill preventing judges from weighing immigration status in sentencing
Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner says she'll introduce legislation when Parliament returns that would amend the Criminal Code, preventing judges from considering a non-citizen's immigration status during sentencing.
