After a visit to the Dilley Detention Center in Texas, U.S. Representative Jasmine Crockett painted a harrowing picture of the conditions faced by children and mothers housed at the facility, calling on Congress to use its authority to intervene.
The visit on Jan. 29, 2026, which ended with a press conference at the forecourt of the facility highlights what she described as widespread neglect and trauma among migrant children.
Speaking in the video, Rep. Jasmine recounted the story of a young boy named Liam, who was forcibly separated from his family and transported more than 1,500 miles from home.
“Imagine being a free-willed, loving kiddo. And all of a sudden one day, you’re thrown on a plane… You have one set of pants, one shirt,” she said. “Your dad washes your pants and your shirt out every single day. You don’t have your mom, who is currently four months pregnant, with your sibling. And frankly… you’ve gotten depressed. To the extent that you’ve stopped eating.”
Crockett, who has been tipped to win the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Texas on March 3, described similar distress among other children and mothers, noting that many parents were so preoccupied with their children’s welfare that they neglected their own needs.
“We heard the same story over and over… about how they weren’t eating, how children were throwing up,” she said.
Rep. Crockett also raised concerns about the lack of educational resources. She visited a section of the facility presented as a children’s learning area, only to discover that the children were not receiving proper schooling:
“They reopened this facility back in April of last year… Their education is being thwarted. When pressed, they said, ‘We’re going to get some packets in here.’ I said, what are the packets going to do? Are you going to have teachers?”
Describing the situation as worse than conditions faced by many accused or convicted of crimes, Rep. Crockett stressed the urgency of legislative action.
“The treatment that these people are suffering under right now is worse than those who are accused and sometimes even convicted of crimes… We are supposed to be better than this,” she said.
Rep. Crockett called on her Senate colleagues to exercise their power of the purse, stressing that Congress—not the president—controls funding for these facilities.
“If you allow this to continue to happen, then you are complicit. We have to do our part as the legislative branch,” she said.
The video adds to Rep Crockett’s many attempts to fight what she describes as a lack of child welfare and accountability at migrant detention centers.
Her video also amplifies national calls for Congressional oversight and reforms to protect vulnerable families.
