Federal judge orders outside oversight of migrant child detention at Texas facilities

A federal judge has ordered independent oversight of immigration facilities holding children in Texas, citing concerns that minors have been detained for weeks or even months and allegations of inadequate medical care and poor conditions.

U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee appointed a special master and independent monitor to oversee parts of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Dilley Immigration Processing Center and Customs and Border Protection facilities in the Rio Grande Valley and El Paso, as well as facilities in the San Diego area. The order is part of a decades-old court decision governing the treatment of immigrant children in federal custody.

Minors detained at Dilley held for more than 20 days 

By the numbers:

The court said the plaintiffs estimated that 1,560 minors were held at Dilley for longer than 20 days over a six-month period. Numbers released by ICE showed the average stay for minors leaving the facility ranged between 23.5 days and 47.5 days between January and May.

"The fact that the monthly averages have been over 20 days for five consecutive months is particularly concerning," Gee wrote.

The 1997 Flores settlement limits the detention of migrant children to 30 days. 

The order cites findings that dozens of children were held in the facility for more than 80 days. The court noted that the length of stay numbers were only available for those that have been released from the facility and not for those currently detained at the facility.

Gee appointed Andrea Sheridin Ordin as the special master and Dr. Paul Wise as the independent monitor. The pair will monitor how long children are held in custody at the Dilley facility, various hotels, as well as monitoring if medical care is adequate in Dilley.

The judge noted reports that medical care was ineffective at the facility with reports saying children were only receiving Tylenol and ibuprofen for medical needs. Court documents state parents complained that medical care was often delayed and said a 10-year-old with a heart murmur had to wait 60 days to see a cardiologist.

According to court documents, detainees at Dilly filed 64 grievances about medical services provided at the facility, and "none were found in favor of the resident" between Aug. 2025 and May 2026. Gee also noted that the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services had received 1,480 complaints regarding medical services.

What they're saying:

"At a minimum, the evidence regarding medical care is conflicting and the reported differences in reality are stark," Gee wrote.

Customs and Border Protection facilities under independent oversight

The order also places some Customs and Border Protection facilities under independent oversight, including those in the Rio Grande Valley and El Paso. 

At CBP facilities in the Rio Grande Valley and El Paso, the monitor will focus on how long children remain in custody and whether facilities maintain adequate temperatures. The judge said children continued to be held beyond 72 hours and cited ongoing complaints about extremely cold holding areas despite an earlier court finding that CBP was not substantially complying with Flores requirements in those areas.

The plaintiffs claim 156 minors were held in CBP custody for more than 72 hours in March 2026. Of those, 46 were in the Rio Grande Valley and 16 were in El Paso. In May, 164 minors were held for more than 72 hours, including 50 in the Rio Grande Valley and 30 in El Paso.

Gee said the number of children detained for more than 72 hours was "especially troubling given the current relatively low census numbers."

CBP, ICE argue against violations of Flores settlement

The other side:

CBP and ICE dispute that lengthy detention and other complaints establish violations of Flores, arguing that release timelines depend on individual cases and operational constraints. ICE also says its medical care at Dilley complies with the settlement, while CBP argued that some of the evidence about facility conditions was outdated or insufficient. The judge found those explanations did not eliminate the need for independent monitoring.

CBP and ICE argue that the Flores settlement did not set a hard timeline for release, just that children needed to be processed as "expeditiously as possible."

CBP also claimed that the complaints concerning facilities being too cold were too few, too old and too vague to be considered non-compliance. 

ICE said its medical care at Dilley complied with the settlement. Though Gee said "proper policy design, without proper implementation, does not offer Class Members the baseline of care bargained for in the FSA."

What can the Special Master and Independent Monitor do?

The assigned special master and independent monitor will be tasked with serval things:

• They will monitor nationwide time in CBP custody
• Oversee certain conditions in CBP custody
• Track the use of hotels to house children
• Oversee access to medical care in Dilley
• Issue quarterly reports describing the government's compliance.

What is the Flores Settlement Agreement?

The Flores Settlement Agreement is a longstanding court agreement that governs how the federal government must detain, care for and release immigrant children, requiring safe conditions and prompt processing and release.

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