Special Report From Dilley, Texas Detention Center: Women & Children Face Unthinkable Abuse

The following is an important Special Report from Christina Padien.  It is published with her permission in conjunction with the Immigration Justice Campaign.  Thank you to Christina and IJC for their tremendous efforts and sharing this crucial information with all of us.

The Kennel: What Happens Before the Detention Facility

For months we have been hearing the horror stories of families being separated at the border and women and children being held in detention facilities without any clear communication regarding U.S. asylum and immigration procedures or timelines. 

One topic that has not been discussed at all, to my knowledge, is what immigrants go through at the border after they present themselves to immigration officials, but before they are transported to a detention facility.  It is one of the dirty little secrets of immigration that gets no air time on the news, but is worthy of some serious discussion.  Recently there has been some limited coverage of the “Icebox” by CNN as a result of letters written by women who were separated from their children and are currently being held at the Dilley detention facility.  But I want to provide you with much more detail about that part of the immigration detention process.

Everything I know about this process I learned through conversations with clients at the Dilley Pro Bono Project in Dilley, Texas. These are clients that I helped prepare for their Credible Fear interviews with Asylum Officers. They spoke with me under a condition of anonymity.  A common refrain was that the women were afraid to discuss the conditions of their detention in “La Perrera” (the “Kennel”) because they feared reprisal from immigration officials.  But once they started talking, it became clear from the consistency of the descriptions across clients that there is a very dark underbelly to our already deplorable and inhumane immigration system.

It is worth noting at the outset that multiple clients referred to the holding facility as “La Perrera” and “the icebox” or “the freezer.”  The reference to a dog kennel comes from the chain-link fence and cement floors of the holding facility.  The reference to an icebox or freezer is because the facility is extremely cold.  Immigrants are held in this facility for several days after an immigrant presents herself to a border agent. 

All of my clients were mothers who immigrated with children.  Their journeys to the United States lasted anywhere from 7-20+ days.  The women were fleeing abhorrent conditions ranging from repeated sexual and physical assault, to threats of death and/or abuse against their children, and everything in between.  Some of these women had been suffering for years, some had only recently become the target of a local gang or loved one.  In all circumstances, what these women and their children suffered is unfathomable to most Americans.   

Given their circumstances, one can only imagine the initial sense of relief these women must have felt when they crossed the border and told a U.S. immigration official that they were seeking asylum.  Unfortunately, that relief was short-lived.  At least two of my clients stated clearly that the Kennel was some of the worst treatment they had ever experienced - which is very, very difficult to fathom given their backgrounds.

The abuse at the Kennel started immediately, and though it varied depending on whether female or male guards were on shift (the male guards were apparently kinder than the female guards, according to some), it seems to have been very consistent across the several statements I heard.  To start with, when the women and children arrive at the border, they are put into the Kennel without clean clothes or any real food to eat.  This may seem a small thing, but many immigrants came into the U.S. via the river that borders Texas and Mexico.  So, the women and children are wet and then placed in a freezing cold holding room, enclosed by chain-link fence and surrounded by a bunch of other recent immigrants.  In one client’s estimation, there were almost 200 people in a space the size of an office.  Whether that is accurate or not, it is clear that the women and children were crammed together in a small space with no concern for their well-being.

Once in the Kennel, no one is allowed access to a bathroom without consent by a guard, which was not easy to obtain.  While some women with young children were provided diapers, one client, whose son is just three years old, was not provided with diapers because, according to the guard, her son was “too old” and “needs to grow up.”  Children were generally required to wait until granted permission to use the bathroom, just like their mothers.  As a result, my client’s son, and many others, peed their pants and then had to sit in the freezing holding cell with wet clothes.  Because the guards were so stingy with bathroom breaks, many women also ended up wetting themselves.  Even when allowed to use the bathrooms, they were “disgusting” and so dirty that at least one client did not want her child to use them. 

Then there is the atrocious food.  The food provided in the Kennel is almost inedible.  One client described the food provided as “frozen sandwiches with brown lettuce.”  The sandwiches were so unappetizing that she and her son ate only apples and water for the three and a half days they were held there.  For children still using bottles, juice was provided, but even that seems to be at the discretion of the guards on duty.  One client shared that her child’s bottle was “ripped away” by a guard and thrown in the trash because the guard felt that her child was too old for a bottle. 

Finally, as you can imagine, it is hard enough to sleep when you are freezing, wet and hungry, but the guards at the Kennel apparently think that sleep is an unnecessary luxury for these battered women and children.  So much so, that the guards will not allow the people in the Kennel to sleep through the night - waking them frequently with whistles and forcing them to stand up and get into line.  Should a woman or child fail to wake up or get up quickly enough, the guards kick them with their heavy boots and call them vile names.  One client has scars on her ankles from when she was kicked.

Once it is time for an immigrant to be released to a detention facility, she is allowed to shower and provided with clean clothes prior to transfer.  It is impossible to know, but it seems rather convenient that it is only when outside authorities are going to see the women and children that they are provided with showers and clean clothes. 

I don’t really have the words to capture how horrified I was the first time I heard the details about the Kennel.  That the American government fails to recognize the humanity of these individuals and fails to treat them with respect and decency as they go through a grueling vetting process is appalling to me.  But this is happening every day to hundreds and hundreds of immigrants.  It is only by shining a light on these abuses of power that we can hopefully begin to repair a broken system.     

If you would like to learn more about opportunities to volunteer or donate to organizations that are working hard to defend the human rights of every immigrant, please visit the Immigration Justice Campaign website.  We cannot let these abuses thrive in the shadows.