Texas Representative Joaquin Castro is urging the Trump administration to release a 2-month-old baby from immigration detention, after he was rushed to hospital.
The Democrat took to social media over the holiday weekend, after finding the infant was staying at the Dilley Detention Center, which has rapidly increased capacity for immigrant families in recent months.
Newsweek reached out to Castro’s office and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) via email for comment Tuesday morning.
Why It Matters
The detention center, which sits south-west of San Antonio, has become a site of concern for members of Congress and immigrant advocates, following a rapid expansion of family detentions in recent months. While DHS has insisted that conditions at the site meet high standards, Castro has been among the lawmakers countering that narrative, calling for a change in ICE practices.
What To Know
Castro visited Dilley on January 28 and found that Juan Nicolás was being held along with other children and their parents. He had been there for at least three weeks, the Congressman said.
Multiple social media videos then described how the 2-month-old had respiratory issues and needed treatment in the hospital. Univision reported that Nicolás had choked on his own vomit on Sunday, and that there was no doctor in the facility at the time.
The outlet said it had been told the boy was stable as of Monday morning, but that his mother, who is also at the center, had not confirmed the news. He was later discharged with bronchitis and sent back to Dilley, Univision’s Lidia Terrazas reported.
Castro said in the video that some 3,800 children had been detained by immigration officials since President Donald Trump returned to office. Recent reporting by ProPublica highlighted letters that children at Dilley specifically wrote about their experiences.
Parents also spoke to ProPublica, explaining that some children had harmed themselves because they were so disturbed by the conditions they were being held in.
DHS and the company running the facility, CoreCivic, have insisted that Dilley is subjected to multiple levels of oversight and that immigrants receive high standards of medical care and other support.
What People Are Saying
Texas Democratic Representative Juaquin Castro, in a video shared to social media: “You all know that these kids should be released, and these folks who have committed no crime, should not be in this trailer prison in Dilley.”
Jill Stein, former Presidential candidate, on X: “The emergency hospitalization of 2-month old Juan Nicolás is an inevitable consequence of holding infants in concentration camps. ICE is creating terror on the streets and in their torture chambers. Call Congress today: NO FUNDING FOR ICE.”
What Happens Next
Castro said he was pressuring ICE to release Nicolas and his mother from detention.
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