ICE held migrants at Dallas office for days, families say, exceeding agency standards

As detention centers have grown increasingly overcrowded, some migrants were recently held for days in a federal office in Dallas that is not intended for long-term stay and faced poor detention conditions, according to their family members.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security denied the allegations.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Dallas’ Stemmons Corridor is considered a “holding facility,” according to a 2018 audit of the site.

Under ICE’s own standards as outlined in a 2024 directive, however, the agency is not allowed to keep migrants in such locations for over 12 hours — “absent exceptional circumstances.” The processing area is also not equipped to handle extended stays, creating overcrowding issues and lacking proper resources for detainees, according to interviews with three families and court records obtained by The Dallas Morning News.

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“I don’t know what to do,” said Jonathan Dykes, who told The News his husband, Luis Rodriguez Medina, was held at the Dallas field office for around five days. “They’re being treated so poorly.”

Now, family members and community advocates in Dallas are pushing back — on social media, at vigils and in a formal code complaint to the city about the ICE field office. Democratic members of Congress from the Dallas-Fort Worth area are also formally demanding answers from the agency, including in a Monday joint letter.

These efforts came amid questions about the country’s immigration detention capacity, as the Trump administration seeks to arrest 3,000 undocumented migrants a day.

There were nearly 57,000 people in detention nationwide as of July 13 — compared to just over 37,000 for the same time period last year — according to the ICE data kept by Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse.

“If you’re apprehending, or shooting to apprehend 3,000 people a day, it doesn’t take long to fill those beds,” said Sarah Saldaña, the former ICE director under the Obama administration. “You may be apprehending, but where are you going to put them once you apprehend them?”

Magdalena Morales, a registered nurse in Dallas, pumps her fist as she voices her support during an ICE vigil held outside the Dallas ICE field office, located at 8101 N. Stemmons Freeway in Dallas, on July 27, 2025. (Steve Hamm / Special Contributor)

In a Monday statement, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin issued a blanket denial of the allegations of poor conditions at the Dallas field office.

“ICE has legal authority to temporarily house illegal aliens while they are being processed after their arrest,” she said. “Processing centers have beds, running water, and other essentials. Any allegations to the contrary are FALSE.”

McLaughlin also denied the inadequate medical care allegation, saying that the agency has a “longstanding practice to provide comprehensive medical care” when an individual enters ICE custody.

When first asked about individuals being held at the Dallas ICE field office for more than the 12-hour standard, McLaughlin said in a Friday statement the administration is focusing on its mass deportation promise with “historic funding” from President Donald Trump’s massive tax and spending bill.

“Under President Trump’s leadership, we are working at turbo speed on cost-effective and innovative ways to deliver on the American people’s mandate for mass deportations of criminal illegal aliens,” she said.

She also said in the Friday statement that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem has “called on” states and local governments to help provide detention beds. Florida opened up Alligator Alcatraz earlier this month. In Texas, the federal government awarded a major contract to build a detention facility with a capacity of 5,000 at Fort Bliss, an El Paso Army base.

McLaughlin, however, didn’t address specific questions from The News about whether the agency had issued a new directive that allows for individuals to be detained past the 12-hour mark in holding facilities, as well as what qualifies as “exceptional circumstances.” The 2024 directive didn’t define the term.

An attendee waves an American flag as motorists honk while passing during an ICE vigil held outside the Dallas ICE field office, located at 8101 N. Stemmons Freeway in Dallas, on July 27, 2025. (Steve Hamm / Special Contributor)‘He was very uncomfortable’

Dykes, 43, said he lost his husband to ICE custody on July 18. At the time, Dykes said he was accompanying Rodriguez Medina to a hearing at the Dallas immigration court, during which the 32-year-old Venezuelan man’s case was dismissed. Online records confirmed an immigration judge terminated his court proceedings that Friday.

Rodriguez Medina had arrived in the U.S. in February 2024 with hopes of seeking asylum due to his sexual orientation. But having been in the country for less than two years, his case was eligible for expedited removal.

Plainclothes agents then grabbed Rodriguez Medina as he stepped out of the courtroom, Dykes said.

Exterior view of the Earle Cabell Federal Building on Thursday, May 22, 2025, in Dallas. It houses the immigration court.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)

“They ripped my heart out of my chest,” Dykes said. “I told them, ‘This is my family you’re taking from me,’ and they didn’t care.”

Rodriguez Medina was then transferred to the Dallas ICE field office, where he didn’t receive his prescription medicine between Friday and Sunday, according to Dykes. ICE’s own standards for holding facilities say individuals should have access to their prescribed medication “as necessary.”

Rodriguez Medina also said the room he stayed in was “very hot” and very crowded with over 30 people at one point, according to Dykes.

“He was very uncomfortable and very grouchy,” Dykes said. “It was hard to sleep.”

Also detained for several days at the Dallas ICE field office was Yuri Sosa-Sotolongo, a 33-year-old man from Cuba.

Sosa-Sotolongo arrived in the United States from Cuba in 2020 and requested asylum but was denied. However, the U.S. government was not able to deport him back to Cuba, according to his girlfriend, Claudia. The News is not using her last name because of the threat of retaliation.

Sosa-Sotolongo was given an order of supervision and allowed to stay in the country as long as he checked in with the ICE office in Dallas.

He was detained on July 18 when he showed up to the office for a scheduled check-in, according to Claudia.

Sosa-Sotolongo was held at the office for five days and didn’t have a chance to shower while he was there, she said.

Claudia also raised concerns about the site being overcrowded, saying Sosa-Sotolongo had to sleep against the toilet in the room one night. ICE officers later gave Sosa-Sotolongo a thin mattress after removing some detainees from the room, according to her.

An umbrella bears the names of detainees as an event organizer read the names to a large group of attendees at an ICE vigil held outside the Dallas ICE field office, located at 8101 N. Stemmons Freeway in Dallas, on July 27, 2025. (Steve Hamm / Special Contributor)

Neither Sosa-Sotolongo nor Rodriguez Medina have criminal records, according to searches of federal, local and state court records as well as public databases.

Sosa-Sotolongo was sent to the Logan County Jail in Guthrie, Okla., on Wednesday night, Claudia said. He was later transferred to Cimarron Detention Center in Cushing, Okla.

Meanwhile, Rodriguez Medina was moved to the Bluebonnet Detention Center, about 25 miles north of Abilene. Dykes saw him again in person Saturday — following a 4.5-hour drive from their home in Gladewater, just outside of Longview.

The couple wasn’t able to hug. All family visits at Bluebonnet are non-contact, according to ICE. Instead, Dykes said, they both broke down crying.

Dykes, however, told The News that Rodriguez Medina’s detention conditions have improved: “He said it’s better.”

Community groups, lawmakers demand answers

Over the past week, local advocates have been demanding answers about the issues at the Dallas ICE field office. On top of social media posts, more than 100 people showed up outside the building Sunday, carrying signs and chanting.

“We are gathered here to acknowledge the inhumane treatment that is happening just feet away from where we’re standing,” said Noemi Rios, an organizer with Vecinos Unidos DFW, a community group that has advocated for immigration rights.

Rios then urged attendees to continue their responses, including joining the vigil that a group of clergymembers has held outside the field office every Monday morning for months. The group includes Rev. Eric Folkerth, senior pastor of Kessler Park UMC, who also spoke at the Sunday event.

Noemi Rios amplifies her message to a large crowd gathered for an ICE vigil held outside the Dallas ICE field office, located at 8101 N. Stemmons Freeway in Dallas, on July 27, 2025. (Steve Hamm / Special Contributor)

Organizers also called on lawmakers to continue seeking accountability.

In a joint letter Monday, Democratic U.S. Reps. Marc Veasey, Jasmine Crockett and Julie Johnson said they are demanding “immediate answers” from ICE and DHS “regarding credible reports of inhumane treatment of detainees” at the Dallas field office. Veasey, who directly represents the district where the site is located, had also posted about these reports in a Friday Facebook post.

The lawmakers requested the agency to formally respond to their questions within 10 business days, according to the letter.

“We urge your office to investigate these allegations without delay and provide a full account to my office,” the letter said. “The people detained at this facility, many of whom have fled violence or persecution, deserve to be treated with basic human dignity while their cases are processed under U.S. law.”

Spokespeople for DHS and ICE did not respond to an emailed comment request about the letter Monday.

Meanwhile, reached in the U.S. Capitol, Republican Sen. John Cornyn said he’d need to know more about the circumstances of individuals who have been held for more than 12 hours.

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz’s office didn’t provide a comment, following two emailed requests from The News on Monday.

At the same time, Vecinos Unidos DFW said in an Instagram post it filed a complaint with the city of Dallas and called for a code inspection of the field office. The city’s 311 dashboard shows a safety code concern was submitted just before 1:30 p.m. Thursday against an address linked to the ICE facility.

The case was then closed Monday because the city of Dallas doesn’t have jurisdiction over the property, city spokesperson Rick Ericson said in a statement to The News.

Reverend Eric Folkerth, senior pastor at the Kessler Park UMC, shares his message to a large crowd gathered for an ICE vigil held outside the Dallas ICE field office, located at 8101 N. Stemmons Freeway in Dallas, on July 27, 2025. (Steve Hamm / Special Contributor)

In the meantime, family members said they are trying to navigate the immigration system while dealing with the aftermath of their loved one’s detention.

Dykes told The News he’s trying to figure out how to find a lawyer he could afford. He did not attend the Sunday vigil because he was afraid, but a speaker relayed the statement on his behalf.

“It saddens me that you have to be scared of the government, but this is the world that we are living in,” said his statement. “I hope that something changes soon to prevent what my husband has been through and the other victims.”

Staff writers Joseph Morton and Devyani Chhetri contributed to this story.

ICE held migrants at Dallas office for days, families say, exceeding agency standards

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