The facility in Dilley, Texas, has been criticized for not providing adequate care and food for families.Photograph: Eric Gay/AP(Photograph: Eric Gay/AP)Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) says a two-year-old boy held at the ICE family detention center in Dilley, Texas, is ill and not receiving adequate medical care. The child, identified as Kaleth, reportedly has a fever and is refusing the food provided at the facility. Detainees have further alleged that meals sometimes contained mold and, in some claims, worms. According to Castro, when the child’s mother, Joani, requested help from staff she was told the problem was "mental." Castro wrote on X that "a vulnerable child at the Dilley trailer prison was suffering and ICE denied their reality and their needs. It’s shameful and must stop." The South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, run for ICE by private corrections company CoreCivic, has faced repeated criticism over conditions for families. In February the facility reported two measles cases. It was also the site where five-year-old asylum seeker Liam Conejo Ramos and his father were held for a week after being detained in Minneapolis. Families and former detainees have described shortages of clean drinking water, chronic sleep deprivation, limited hygiene supplies, and delays in medical attention. A court filing dated September 15 detailed allegations of a "prison-like environment," saying guards referred to residents as "inmates" and that families lived in what were described as "cell-like trailers." CoreCivic’s public affairs manager Brian Todd disputed some allegations in February, saying claims about lack of access to clean drinking water were "patently false" and that health care was available to all detainees. CoreCivic expects to generate about $180 million in annual revenue from the site through at least March 2030. "I am calling for ICE to provide proper medical care to Kaleth and to release him and his mother Joani immediately," Castro said, and has renewed his call to shut down the Dilley facility. Castro has posted videos and statements urging the center’s closure, arguing that the U.S. is "commodifying child suffering" and allowing private investors to profit from the detention of children. The case has renewed scrutiny of family detention practices and renewed calls for transparency and independent oversight.Help us improve.