WASHINGTON \u2014 Rep. Joaquin Castro has made seven visits to the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, a sleepy town southwest of his San Antonio district, since the Trump administration reopened it last year. He\u2019s met immigrants there who\u2019ve garnered national attention and outcry, from teenage mariachi-performing brothers to 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, detained wearing a bunny hat and a Spiderman backpack.<\/p>\n
But in his visits to the immigration lockup, Castro has encountered plenty of detainees whose stories stuck with him despite receiving little to no media attention. Four pregnant women he met earlier in the year who were gone the next time he visited, either deported or released. Venezuelan migrants whom he thought about after the recent deadly earthquakes that devastated Caracas, wondering how their family members had fared as they were behind bars. A 2-month-old infant who had spent nearly half his life in Dilley, the country\u2019s only facility that imprisons immigrant parents with their children.<\/p>\n
When he walks between the sprawl of trailers where immigrants are held, Castro said, \u201cpeople will come up, and they\u2019ll tell us their stories. You have kids that are really stonefaced \u2014 that\u2019s their way of dealing with everything. And kids that are very emotional, crying. People will often break down in their conversations with us.\u201d<\/p>\n
The remote South Texas lockup reopened weeks after President Donald Trump issued an executive order on the first day of his return to the White House ordering the government to use all \u201clegally available resources\u201d to prop up more immigration detention centers. In the year and a half since, Trump\u2019s mass deportation push has jailed a growing number of undocumented immigrants. Last month, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reported holding an average of 65,000 people across their facilities each day, up from about 37,000 two years ago under the Biden administration.<\/p>\n
As the detention population has swelled, so too have the number of deaths in custody and allegations of neglect, mistreatment and inhumane conditions inside the facilities.<\/p>\n
The list of people who can enter ICE detention facilities is limited beyond agency officials and staff for the private prison companies contracted to run most centers. Members of Congress and their staff are part of a select list that otherwise consists of medical providers, detainees\u2019 legal representatives, friends and family during limited hours, consular officials and clergy.<\/p>\n
Most of the Democrats in Texas\u2019 congressional delegation have visited at least one facility, and some, including Castro, have brought along colleagues from out of state. In the 2025 fiscal year, members of Congress made over 160 oversight visits, according to Axios, using the authority far more than they ever did in Trump\u2019s first term.<\/p>\n
For the members, the limited number of people who can get inside facilities gives their oversight visits additional weight. Whatever they relay from their personal observations, conversations with detainees and questioning of officials is among the public\u2019s only window into what occurs inside federal detention facilities. Some detainees also see the visiting members as a lifeline to get their case heard.<\/p>\n
Department of Homeland Security officials have maintained that immigrants receive quality care while in ICE custody.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny claim that there are subprime conditions at ICE detention facilities is FALSE,\u201d DHS wrote in response to questions for this story, citing an unnamed spokesperson. \u201cAll detainees are provided with proper meals, quality water, blankets, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with their family members and lawyers. ICE has higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons that hold actual U.S. citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Democratic Congress members from Texas who have visited the facilities said that what they\u2019ve seen inside disturbs them. Castro and the delegation\u2019s other most frequent guest at ICE lockups, El Paso Rep. Veronica Escobar, both have recounted cases of medical neglect and immigrants telling them they were being given substandard food. They each described dealings with federal officials who they said have been opaque about how the detention centers are run and unwilling to hold contracted facility operators accountable.<\/p>\n
Escobar has visited Camp East Montana \u2014 a sprawling tent complex located on Fort Bliss in her district \u2014 ten times since it opened a year ago. The facility now holds more immigrants day to day than any other in the country, and it has violated dozens of federal detention standards, according to findings from a federal inspection published earlier this year. A separate federal report in June found that the facility had \u201cserious gaps in medical services,\u201d a reality Escobar said she witnessed firsthand through a mix of physical and mental toil.<\/p>\n
In one case, she recalled speaking to a detainee who described constant pain in his forearm after being injured during his arrest in the Minneapolis area. Escobar said she met the man after he had been in custody for weeks, and he told her that despite begging for medical attention, he was given only aspirin and an arm brace.<\/p>\n
\u201cI asked if I could see his arm,\u201d she said. \u201cHe took off his brace. You could see the break \u2014 his arm had never been set. It had never been put in a cast.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked about Escobar\u2019s retelling, DHS said the detainee in question was arrested shortly after Christmas in Minnesota.<\/p>\n
The man \u201cclaimed to have a fractured wrist from a prior incident,\u201d DHS said in its email to the Tribune, in which the agency confirmed he was \u201cprescribed pain medication while in ICE custody\u201d and did not mention further medical care.<\/p>\n
\u201cAn immigration judge issued him a final order of removal on February 10,\u201d DHS\u2019 email continued. \u201cOn February 21, ICE was forced to release this illegal alien after a Biden-appointed activist judge ordered his release. ICE will continue to fight for his arrest and removal from the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n
Facility conditions<\/p>\n
ICE officials have also pushed back on other allegations of poor conditions, maintaining that detainees receive three dietician-evaluated meals per day along with clean water, clothing and bedding. In its emailed response for this story, the agency also said it was \u201clongstanding practice to provide comprehensive medical care from the moment an alien enters ICE custody,\u201d contending the facilities provide better medical care than what many immigrants had received outside the lockups.<\/p>\n
Both Castro and Escobar have spent months relaying stories from detainees, and other information they have gleaned, that they say paints the opposite picture. Each said they have heard from immigrants in custody who were treated solely with aspirin for medical problems that demanded more serious care.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe medical care is probably the biggest complaint and worry, because every time we go visit, there will be people who will come up and say, \u2018I\u2019m supposed be taking [some] medication, and I haven\u2019t gotten it on time\u2019 or \u2018I haven\u2019t been able to take it when I\u2019m supposed to,\u2019\u201d Castro said. \u201cAt Dilley, there was a teenager who got appendicitis and wasn\u2019t seen for hours. So, medical care is often delayed or denied.\u201d<\/p>\n
In its emailed response, DHS said allegations about subpar conditions at Dilley are a \u201choax\u201d and blasted the Tribune for reporting them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe media is clearly desperate for these allegations of inhumane conditions at this facility to be true,\u201d the agency wrote. \u201cHere are the facts: Dilley does meet federal detention standards and actually undergoes regular audits and inspections.\u201d<\/p>\n
Castro has called for Dilley to be shut down, while Escobar has demanded the same of Camp East Montana, the respective facilities each has visited most frequently.<\/p>\n
\u201cI see my role as making sure we\u2019re fulfilling our obligation, that we are treating people humanely and that taxpayer dollars are not being wasted \u2014 that they\u2019re being used efficiently,\u201d Escobar said. \u201cBut as I\u2019ve seen, the folks on the ground really don\u2019t care, and it\u2019s gotten worse over time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Escobar\u2019s perch on the House committee in charge of government spending gives her a say in how ICE spends its money, while Castro is the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee\u2019s Western Hemisphere panel, which has jurisdiction over U.S. policy toward Latin America. Both represent immigrant-heavy communities and have long been outspoken critics of Trump\u2019s immigration policy, dating back to his first term.<\/p>\n
The two Democrats each said it\u2019s been tougher to get information during Trump\u2019s second stint, with some facilities making it easier than others to secure access and information. And with Democrats in the minority, the two can\u2019t compel witness testimony or launch special investigations.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s much more secretive now,\u201d Castro said. \u201cICE and the administration don\u2019t feel like they have to explain themselves, oftentimes even to members of Congress with oversight authority.\u201d<\/p>\n
ICE detains immigrants at over 150 facilities around the country, ranging from county jails to processing centers to sprawling detention complexes.<\/p>\n
Texas is home to 26 of these locations, by far the most of any state. Its detainee population \u2014 16,450 as of early July, according to DHS data \u2014 is also the largest. About 24 percent have at least one criminal conviction.<\/p>\n
New leadership, new rules<\/p>\n
Both Castro and Escobar said they contend with decisions about when to work behind the scenes and when to use their platforms to publicly apply pressure, depending on the information or policy change they\u2019re seeking.<\/p>\n
Castro said he\u2019s worked on cases that never made it onto his social media channels, sometimes after consultations with detainees\u2019 lawyers and ICE officials made it clear that he would be most helpful by backing off.<\/p>\n
Escobar said her strategy revolves around relaying the conditions detainees are facing \u2014 both to the public and behind closed doors.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have tried to influence the people on the ground, by pointing out to them \u2014 both the contractors and the ICE personnel \u2014 look what\u2019s happening,\u201d she said. \u201cThis person has not gotten their insulin in weeks. Look at these shampoo packets \u2014 they\u2019re using them to wash their clothes because nobody\u2019s laundering their clothes. Or look at this group of women [who have] been in detention for three weeks without a phone call to their lawyers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Castro also said federal authorities have become more tight-lipped in recent months, after former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was ousted and Markwayne Mullin was confirmed as the new agency head. The congressman said his access to detainees has also been curtailed under the new leadership.<\/p>\n
Previously, if a member of Congress had a preplanned visit, facility staff would post a sign-up sheet for detainees wanting to meet with the member. When Castro visited, there were sometimes up to 300 people that had signed up to speak with him. Now, he said he has to submit a form to speak to specific detainees ahead of time.<\/p>\n
ICE laid out those changes in a May memo, saying they were needed because members\u2019 visits had become increasingly disruptive and resource-intensive.<\/p>\n
The DHS spokesperson underscored that the high frequency of member visits had taken a toll, while noting that any member of Congress can still request to speak with a detainee in ICE custody. Agency officials facilitate those meetings when both parties agree to it, the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Fiscal Year 2025, we supported more congressional facility visits than any year under the Biden-Harris administration,\u201d the spokesperson added. \u201cThese requests must be part of legitimate congressional oversight activities, and far too often they are just for a media act. Without proper support, such visits threaten the safety of ICE personnel, the detainees, and Members of Congress alike.\u201d<\/p>\n
Democratic members could gain more oversight powers if Democrats win a majority in November\u2019s midterms. Flipping the chamber would mean control of committee gavels, with the power to host hearings, set the agenda and compel administration officials to testify. That could also mean formal probes of detainees\u2019 treatment in custody and how contracts were awarded to run detention facilities.<\/p>\n
If his party flips the chamber, Castro said he wants to see a special commission to investigate ICE, including deaths in custody and at the hands of agents. He also wants to see legislation overhauling ICE, though any such changes would likely run into Trump\u2019s veto pen if they ever made it that far.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think that, for the sake of the country, ICE, as it exists today, can continue years into the future,\u201d Castro said. \u201cIt simply has become too abusive, too lawless, too bloated.\u201d<\/p>\n