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911 Logs Detail Pediatric Crises at ICE’s Dilley Family Facility as Officials Defend Care

New emergency dispatch records describe repeated child medical emergencies at the CoreCivic-run Texas site, sharpening questions about care ICE defends as robust.

A young immigrant girl who just arrived at the Holding Institute, a shelter in Laredo, Texas on Feb. 12, 2026, pets a cat as her mother and other families receive a welcome and instructions on how to purchase tickets to get back to their homes in the U.S. (AP Photo/Valerie Gonzalez)
Andrea Armero, left, watches her daughter play on monkey bars in a park in Colombia, on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Andrea Armero, right, and her daughter, who were deported from the United States, sit in a park in Colombia, on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Kheilin Valero Marcano, hugs her 18-month-old daughter, Amalia Arrieta Valero, in Southern California on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Overview

  • Reporters reviewing 911 call logs and audio found nearly a dozen emergency responses over six months for children with high fevers, seizures, broken bones, respiratory distress and dangerously low oxygen levels.
  • In at least three incidents, children were transported more than an hour to pediatric specialists in San Antonio for complex or life‑threatening conditions.
  • ICE confirmed at least two measles cases inside the facility last month after attorneys warned of an outbreak among detained families.
  • A lawsuit says 18‑month‑old Amalia was hospitalized for 10 days with severe respiratory illness after detention, her parents were released hours after the filing, and her medication was allegedly withheld upon return to the center.
  • CoreCivic says no child has been denied or delayed treatment and ICE asserts detainees receive some of the best care of their lives, as the reopened family facility holds part of a population that advocacy groups say now exceeds 60,000 in ICE custody.