Democrats urge DHS to shut down Dilley immigration detention center

The facility is the only family detention center in the country.

Rep. Joaquin Castro, along with more than 110 Democratic members of Congress, has sent a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin urging the shutdown of the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas.

The facility, which is the only family detention center in the country, was closed during the Biden administration but was reopened last year as part of the Trump administration's ongoing immigration crackdown.

In the letter, which was first obtained by ABC News, they write, "There is no humane way to imprison a child and their family. It is nothing more than a trailer prison that detains families. In fact, the Dilley facility is the only place in the United States dedicated to detaining families with children who have not been charged with a crime."

"Former and current detained families describe horrific conditions perpetuated by CoreCivic and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that are meant to strip them of their dignity and make them feel hopeless," the letter says, referring to the private prison contractor that operates the Dilley facility.

The letter outlines how parents have described "horrendous conditions at Dilley," including allegations of food "contaminated with worms and mold," drinking water that leaves detainees feeling sick, lights that stay on through the night and inadequate education and medical care that has led to "severe depression, hopelessness and suicidal ideation amongst their children," according to the letter.

Medical care "is delayed, denied, and in many cases outright dismissed, even when children are suffering life threatening medical emergencies," the letter says, describing an alleged incident in which a young boy was not taken to the hospital until after several days of "severe stomach pain," after which he was diagnosed with appendicitis and required surgery.

Immigrant advocates, medical professionals and lawmakers have previously raised concerns about conditions at the South Texas facility.

ABC News in February interviewed a couple who said their 1-year-old daughter contracted COVID-19 and RSV during their 60-day detention. The family alleged that medical staff at Dilley dismissed their daughter's symptoms.

Rep. Castro raised his own concerns about a 2-month old he encountered while visiting another family at the facility in February.

At the time, the top medical official at the Department of Homeland Security, which operates the nation's migrant detention centers, disputed any suggestion that detainees are being denied