1. United States
2. Mass.
3. Letter

I need you to investigate the conditions at the Dilley, Texas immigration detention facility and work to release the children imprisoned there immediately. More than 3,500 people have been cycled through Dilley since it reopened, over half of them minors. Roughly 300 children have been held longer than a month, violating the 1997 Flores Settlement Agreement that limits child detention to 20 days. The National Center for Youth Law has documented food contaminated with worms and mold, water containers with algae, and severe medical neglect including a child who suffered hearing loss from an untreated earache. Families have filed more than 1,000 complaints about inadequate medical care since April. Children as young as 7 have written about depression and self-harm. Facility 911 logs show breathing emergencies, seizures, and sexual assaults. The Trump administration is now systematically silencing these children. After ProPublica published their handwritten letters and Rep. James Walkinshaw read them at a House Homeland Security Committee hearing, guards raided cells to confiscate art supplies and rip up letters. DHS just blocked video calls in community areas after a viral video showed 9-year-old Deiver describing his conditions. These children need immediate release and DHS needs to face accountability for these violations. I expect you to take action.