Under ICE\u2019s own standards as outlined in a 2024 directive<\/a>, however, the agency is not allowed to keep migrants in such locations for over 12 hours \u2014 \u201cabsent exceptional circumstances.\u201d 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. <\/p>\n Breaking News<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know what to do,\u201d said Jonathan Dykes, who told The News his husband, Luis Rodriguez Medina, was held at the Dallas field office for around five days. \u201cThey\u2019re being treated so poorly.\u201d<\/p>\n Related:\u2018I did not choose to be stateless\u2019: North Texas newlywed home after ICE detention<\/a><\/p>\n Now, family members and community advocates in Dallas are pushing back \u2014 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. <\/p>\n These efforts came amid questions about the country\u2019s immigration detention capacity, as the Trump administration seeks to arrest 3,000 undocumented migrants a day<\/a>.<\/p>\n There were nearly 57,000 people in detention nationwide as of July 13 \u2014 compared to just over 37,000 for the same time period last year \u2014 according to the ICE data<\/a> kept by Syracuse University\u2019s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re apprehending, or shooting to apprehend 3,000 people a day, it doesn\u2019t take long to fill those beds,\u201d said Sarah Salda\u00f1a, the former ICE director under the Obama administration. \u201cYou may be apprehending, but where are you going to put them once you apprehend them?\u201d<\/p>\n In a Monday statement, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin issued a blanket denial of the allegations of poor conditions at the Dallas field office. <\/p>\n \u201cICE has legal authority to temporarily house illegal aliens while they are being processed after their arrest,\u201d she said. \u201cProcessing centers have beds, running water, and other essentials. Any allegations to the contrary are FALSE.\u201d<\/p>\n McLaughlin also denied the inadequate medical care allegation, saying that the agency has a \u201clongstanding practice to provide comprehensive medical care\u201d when an individual enters ICE custody.<\/p>\n 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 \u201chistoric funding\u201d from President Donald Trump\u2019s massive tax and spending bill<\/a>. <\/p>\n Related:U.S. awards contract to build 5,000-person immigrant detention camp in El Paso<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cUnder President Trump\u2019s leadership, we are working at turbo speed on cost-effective and innovative ways to deliver on the American people\u2019s mandate for mass deportations of criminal illegal aliens,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n She also said in the Friday statement that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem has \u201ccalled on\u201d 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. <\/p>\n McLaughlin, however, didn\u2019t 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 \u201cexceptional circumstances.\u201d The 2024 directive didn\u2019t define the term. <\/p>\n 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\u2019s case was dismissed. Online records confirmed an immigration judge terminated his court proceedings that Friday.<\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n Plainclothes agents then grabbed Rodriguez Medina as he stepped out of the courtroom, Dykes said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey ripped my heart out of my chest,\u201d Dykes said. \u201cI told them, \u2018This is my family you\u2019re taking from me,\u2019 and they didn\u2019t care.\u201d <\/p>\n Rodriguez Medina was then transferred to the Dallas ICE field office, where he didn\u2019t receive his prescription medicine between Friday and Sunday, according to Dykes. ICE\u2019s own standards for holding facilities say individuals should have access to their prescribed medication \u201cas necessary.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Rodriguez Medina also said the room he stayed in was \u201cvery hot\u201d and very crowded with over 30 people at one point, according to Dykes. <\/p>\n \u201cHe was very uncomfortable and very grouchy,\u201d Dykes said. \u201cIt was hard to sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n Related:ICE arrested a Chilean man at Dallas immigration court. He now speaks from detention<\/a><\/p>\n Also detained for several days at the Dallas ICE field office was Yuri Sosa-Sotolongo, a 33-year-old man from Cuba. <\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n He was detained on July 18 when he showed up to the office for a scheduled check-in, according to Claudia. <\/p>\n Sosa-Sotolongo was held at the office for five days and didn\u2019t have a chance to shower while he was there, she said. <\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n Neither Sosa-Sotolongo nor Rodriguez Medina have criminal records, according to searches of federal, local and state court records as well as public databases. <\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n Meanwhile, Rodriguez Medina was moved to the Bluebonnet Detention Center, about 25 miles north of Abilene. Dykes saw him again in person Saturday \u2014 following a 4.5-hour drive from their home in Gladewater, just outside of Longview. <\/p>\n The couple wasn\u2019t able to hug. All family visits at Bluebonnet are non-contact<\/a>, according to ICE. Instead, Dykes said, they both broke down crying.<\/p>\n Dykes, however, told The News that Rodriguez Medina\u2019s detention conditions have improved: \u201cHe said it\u2019s better.\u201d<\/p>\n Community groups, lawmakers demand answers<\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n \u201cWe are gathered here to acknowledge the inhumane treatment that is happening just feet away from where we\u2019re standing,\u201d said Noemi Rios, an organizer with Vecinos Unidos DFW, a community group that has advocated for immigration rights. <\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Organizers also called on lawmakers to continue seeking accountability. <\/p>\n In a joint letter<\/a> Monday, Democratic U.S. Reps. Marc Veasey, Jasmine Crockett and Julie Johnson said they are demanding \u201cimmediate answers\u201d from ICE and DHS \u201cregarding credible reports of inhumane treatment of detainees\u201d 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<\/a>. <\/p>\n The lawmakers requested the agency to formally respond to their questions within 10 business days, according to the letter. <\/p>\n \u201cWe urge your office to investigate these allegations without delay and provide a full account to my office,\u201d the letter said. \u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Spokespeople for DHS and ICE did not respond to an emailed comment request about the letter Monday. <\/p>\n![\"Magdalena](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/7LCLIQ3BT5HOJB5XTC4LCCZ3EQ.jpg\")
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)<\/p>\n![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/BIQ5T7VJ2FET5N3TZMY3JH7DIU.jpg\")
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)\u2018He was very uncomfortable\u2019<\/p>\n![\"Exterior](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/MDDURNABGVDXPOBQPFPCJU5QPY.jpg\")
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)<\/p>\n![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/J4NN6NLI5NDRTF6TGIOG274PZY.jpg\")
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)<\/p>\n![\"Noemi](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/OTDJPXBVQJG3DI3WCVWGI4Q3HA.jpg\")
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)<\/p>\n
![\"Reverend](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/2MIN37PSSZBFDHBNLVWBRWGG5A.jpg\")
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)<\/p>\n