This week, Texas Democrats in the House of Representatives gathered to continue to call for the closure of the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, an issue members have continued to press as President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown intensifies.
The group, led by Representative Joaquin Castro (D-TX), previously garnered 110 Congressional colleagues to call for the center to be shut down. Over the past few months, the group has conducted several oversight visits to speak directly with detainees and amplify their stories.
Rep. Castro said he was most struck by the number of children in the family detention center.
“The trauma, physical and mental, on those children will be harsh and long-lasting,” Rep. Castro said. “Every single day that a child spends in Dilley, they are traumatized.”
Since May, the number of children in the center has increased alongside the total number of detainees. Rep. Castro said the facility now holds nearly 2,000 people, including hundreds of children, and warned that more families are being detained as the administration expands its immigration enforcement efforts.
“Remember, every time a child is put into the Dilley Detention Center, somebody in America makes more money,” he said. “We have commodified child imprisonment in our nation.”
Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX) said not only are these families being mistreated, but they are not being given any information as to why they are being detained or when they might be released.
“They're not getting any information, and they're not getting any help, except from the people who are working so hard to share their stories and make sure that Americans know that this cannot go on,” Rep. Fletcher said.
Rep. Fletcher added that the Trump administration's immigration enforcement and detention efforts are fueling fear throughout the Houston community. She pointed to the recent fatal shooting of a man, who was not the intended target, by an ICE officer as one major source of heightened anxiety.
“They are terrorizing our communities, and they are creating trauma across our communities,” she said.
But Houston is not the only community bearing the weight of this crackdown, she said.
“This is a national trauma, and that's why people need to know what's happening, and people need to speak up and speak out wherever they are because this is being done in our names,” Rep. Fletcher said.
