While preparing for her routine appointment with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in December, Khelin Marcano contemplated bringing a bag filled with clothing for her 1-year-old daughter. Although she and her husband had attended appointments without any problems, she was aware that many others were being taken into custody at government facilities by immigration officials.
"When we were informed that we were being detained, it felt as if we had already anticipated it," Marcano shared with ABC News. The family, which includes their 1-year-old daughter Amalia, was swiftly transferred from El Paso to the Dilley immigration detention center in Texas, where they remained for a duration of 60 days—joining many other families that the government has held for periods that advocates argue go beyond the limits set by federal court decisions.
These limitations originate from the Flores Settlement, a legal arrangement from 1997 that a federal court has interpreted to mean that the government typically should not keep children in immigration custody for longer than 20 days. According to RAICES, a legal advocacy group for immigrants, approximately 1,400 individuals, including parents and children, were held at Dilley as of last month.
The facility had been shut down during the Biden administration and was reopened last year as the Trump administration intensified its immigration enforcement efforts. The 60 days that Marcano, Stiven Prieto, her husband, and their daughter spent there is three times the standard legal limit allowed by the settlement.
"The Trump administration is keeping children and families in detention for extended durations, including weeks and months," stated Elora Mukherjee, the family's attorney, in conversation with ABC News. Individuals at the Dilley center are insufficiently supplied with clean drinking water, do not receive enough healthy food, and are denied proper medical attention. 'Why are we treated this way?' According to legal documents, the family came to the United States using the Customs and Border Protection app introduced during the Biden era in 2024.
They were processed and granted parole, allowing them to reside in the country while applying for asylum. Their release occurred last week following the 60-day detention, and their initial court date is set for 2027, as noted by their lawyer. A representative from the Department of Homeland Security confirmed the family's release "into the country under the Biden administration" while also acknowledging their detention.
"For many years, the Flores consent decree has served as a tool for the left to advocate for an open borders policy," remarked the DHS representative. "It is high time for a single district in California to cease overseeing the Executive Branch's immigration responsibilities. The Trump administration is devoted to reinstating logic within our immigration framework."
Shortly after their detention began, the family reported that 1-year-old Amalia developed a persistent fever. Despite Marcano’s repeated requests for medication, she informed ABC News that the medical staff disregarded her concerns. "The physician informed me that having a fever was a positive indication as it showed she was vigorously combating a virus," Marcano expressed in Spanish.
I became very distressed ... and told her that no matter what the circumstances, a fever is not something positive. If she was unaware that a high temperature could be life-threatening or lead to seizures, then fever can never be deemed beneficial." In a habeas petition that Marcano submitted against the government,
she and her lawyer asserted that the Dilley facility was deficient in essential sanitation and nutrition, noting that they discovered insects in the meals. They claimed that the tap water had such a strong chlorine odor that the family had to use their limited finances to purchase bottled water for their child.
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