Rep. Grijalva Visits Dilley Detention Center, Calls for Release of Detained Children and Families

Dilley, Texas – On Tuesday, May 5, Representative Adelita Grijalva visited the Dilley Immigration Processing Center alongside Representative Joaquin Castro and fellow House Democrats. After touring the facility, Rep. Grijalva joined FWD.us and Families Belong Together for a press conference urging the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to release families currently detained there.

During the visit, Rep. Grijalva spoke with several detained families including Mayra, who was detained in Corpus Christi after leaving court with her 13-year-old son, Alberto, and has been unable to get updates on her infant in intensive care. She also met Gabriel, who crossed in Nogales, Arizona with his 16-year-old son seeking asylum; and José and his son Ezequiel, who has a heart murmur.

“From Arizona to Texas, we’re seeing the same pattern: inhumane treatment, neglect, and a complete disregard for basic human dignity inside private detention facilities. Families do not belong in detention. Children do not belong in detention. Yet at Dilley, CoreCivic is making $15 million a month to do exactly that. This is not just inhumane – it’s immoral, and it must end.”

The visit follows Rep. Grijalva’s recent trips to detention centers in Arizona, including Mesa and Eloy, where she met with detainees and successfully advocated for the release of “La Abuela,” a grandmother with dementia who had been held for nine months.

You can view the entire press conference here (Rep. Grijalva remarks at 22:40)

You can view a reaction video recorded after the facility tour here.

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