Jorge Ramos Exposes Alleged Cruelty Inside ICE Detention Centers for Children in Texas
Posted on 08/07/26 at 11:53
- Jorge Ramos highlights alleged abuses by ICE.
- Infants reportedly face inadequate medical care in Texas.
- Thousands of children have been affected by family separations.
Journalist Jorge Ramos has criticized conditions inside ICE detention centers for children, describing what he says are alarming and inadequate conditions faced by immigrant minors held in U.S. immigration detention facilities.
The Mexican-American journalist detailed these concerns in an opinion column published by several news outlets, including El Imparcial, where he highlighted cases of alleged negligence involving detained children.
In his column, «The Children of ICE,» Ramos recounts the case of Amalia, a one-year-old girl who was detained with her parents at the Dilley detention center in Texas.
According to Ramos, the child’s mother, Kheilin Valero, confronted medical staff after finding her daughter unconscious.
«Are you going to let her die? How long are you going to leave her like this?» she reportedly asked while seeking medical attention for her daughter. According to Ramos’ account, immigration officials initially dismissed the girl’s symptoms—which included fever and lethargy—providing only Tylenol and allegedly telling the parents to stop bothering staff.
The child’s condition later became serious enough to require a week-long hospitalization, where doctors diagnosed her with COVID-19, pneumonia, an ear infection, and a severe respiratory virus after what Ramos describes as prolonged inadequate medical attention.
The Marshall Project Report and Prolonged Detention
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Jorge Ramos supports his claims by citing the report «25 Babies and Young Children in ICE Custody on Average Each Day,» published by the investigative journalism organization The Marshall Project.
The report states that since Donald Trump returned to the presidency in January 2025, at least 500 infants and children under the age of three have been held in ICE custody.
It also alleges repeated violations of the legal time limits governing the detention of children in facilities primarily designed to process adults.
According to the report cited by Ramos, at least 175 infants and young children remained in custody beyond the 20-day limit established under U.S. regulations for the detention of minors.
Reflecting on those findings, Ramos wrote: «No matter how you look at it, this is official cruelty. No child, anywhere in the world, should ever be imprisoned.»
Lack of Transparency and Officials’ Testimony
Ramos also argues that immigration authorities have limited public scrutiny by denying journalists access to the Dilley detention facility.
«It’s also very suspicious that ICE officials won’t allow journalists into that detention center. If they have nothing to hide, why won’t they let us in?» he wrote.
The journalist also referenced comments by U.S. Rep. Joaquín Castro, who visited the facility without cameras or recording equipment and later described the emotional impact on detained families.
According to Ramos, Castro told The New York Times: «Watching the interactions between parents and their children is heartbreaking. When parents are treated with indignity in front of their children, it destroys the children’s sense that their parents can protect them.»
The Impact Beyond Detention Facilities
Ramos argues that the immigration crisis extends beyond detention centers and has had significant consequences for families across the United States.
Citing data from the Brookings Institution, he states that approximately 205,000 children have been separated from at least one parent because of immigration enforcement operations.
He also cites estimates that roughly 22,000 U.S. citizen children have been separated from both parents as a result of deportation policies, with many entering state care.
Ramos compares those figures with the approximately 5,500 children officially separated from their families during President Trump’s first administration, arguing that current enforcement measures have become even stricter.
«The short- and long-term trauma for these children is enormous. Yet Trump continues to do it. Those who support these policies blame the parents… but they fail to understand that many came north to escape violence,» Ramos wrote.
The journalist concludes by urging greater public empathy toward immigrant families and calling attention to what he describes as ongoing violations of children’s rights.
