Austin kids describe life inside immigration detention
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A letter by Mia Valentina Paz Faria, a 7-year-old Venezuelan child who was living in Austin, before they were detained. Photo: Courtesy of ProPublica
Austin-area children detained with their parents at a South Texas immigration facility describe missing basic comforts and feeling trapped, per letters published this month by ProPublica.
The big picture: The letters give a window into life inside the immigration detention center in Dilley — and how some of the hundreds of children there are faring.
Zoom in: Mia Valentina Paz Faria, a 7-year-old Venezuelan child who was living in Austin before being detained for 70 days, wrote: "I don't want to be in this place."
- "I want to go to my school, I miss my grandparents, I miss my friends, I don't like the food here, I miss my school, I don't like being here, I am bored here, I don't feel so good in this place, I already want to leave this place, I miss my uncles, I hope to leave here soon."
A 12-year-old Venezuelan child, who signed their name as Ender, wrote that they've been in the center for two months. Ender was living in Austin before they were detained.
- "I arrived here for an immigration appointment and I don't think they should grab immigrants who are innocent, like instead of grabbing criminals ..." Ender wrote.
- "They told me I could only be here 21 days, but I have already spent more than 60 days waking up eating the same repetitive meals ... seeing people cry every day for the same reasons, trying to sleep in that horrible uncomfortable bed."
CoreCivic, the private company that runs the detention center, tells ProPublica the center is "subject to multiple layers of oversight to ensure full compliance with policies and procedures, including any applicable detention standards."
Context: Texas has the only immigrant detention center in the country that hold children and their parents, meaning most families who aren't immediately deported are sent here, the Houston Chronicle reports.
- ICE's Dilley facility is designed to hold families together while immigration cases move forward — sometimes for weeks or months.
Go deeper: Read more about the conditions of children detained and their full letters.