Hundreds of children held with their parents at a Texas Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center have been kept in custody longer than generally allowed under a federal court agreement, according to new data obtained by NBC DFW and NBC News from court-appointed monitors assigned to protect children in ICE custody. Much of that prolonged detention has occurred at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, a facility in the brushlands about 75 miles south of San Antonio. Parents and court monitors say many children struggle to cope there. The center has become the nation’s hub for holding families with children arrested by ICE. Among them: 6‑year‑old Maria Paula Herrera. A 6‑year‑old’s experience inside the Dilley facility In a video interview, Maria told NBC in Spanish, “I remember that I didn’t like it.” She said, “I wanted to leave.” Maria and her parents — Yerson Herrera and Kelly Vargas — were taken into ICE custody in New York in September, arrested during a scheduled immigration office meeting. The family was then sent to Dilley. Inside, Maria’s parents said they watched her deteriorate. She cried. [She] screamed to please get us out of there every night. She knelt down to ask God to let us get out of there.Kelly Vargas The family said lights were kept on 24 hours a day and guards made constant noise. “With the radios they passed by — they talked — they shouted,” Yerson said. He said Maria couldn’t sleep and had difficulty eating the facility's food. Her parents said she began showing signs of severe stress, slipping back into early childhood behaviors and wetting the bed. Herrera/Vargas family, Edward Ayala, NBC 5 InvestigatesHerrera/Vargas family, Edward Ayala, NBC 5 InvestigatesPhotos of Yerson Herrera, Kelly Vargas, and their daughter, Maria. “They say it’s a care center for families — but that’s a prison,” Yerson said. The family was held at Dilley for nearly 60 days. A federal court settlement reached decades ago determined that ICE should generally not detain children for more than 20 days. But data from court-appointed monitors — responsible for protecting children in ICE custody — showed some kids have been held for months along with their parents. What court monitors are seeing Becky Wolozin, a senior attorney with the National Center for Youth Law and a court‑appointed monitor who checks on children at Dilley under the Flores Settlement, said ICE is holding some children for “alarming” amounts of time. Flores — a 1997 federal court agreement — sets minimum treatment standards for children in immigration detention. It requires children to be held in the least restrictive setting, which courts have generally interpreted as no more than 20 days. Edward Ayala, NBC 5 InvestigatesEdward Ayala, NBC 5 InvestigatesBecky Wolozin, senior attorney with the National Center for Youth Law and a court‑appointed monitor. But Wolozin said monthly ICE facility population data the monitors receive from the government showed that since last March, at least 911 children in family detention have been held beyond 20 days — about 38% of the more than 2,300 kids in detention during that period, according to the monitors' data. NBC could not independently verify the monitors’ numbers, but they closely track with other public data. For example, records obtained by the Deportation Data Project, a research group that gathers government files through public records requests, show that about 750 children were held for more than 20 days as of October. Wolozin said some children have been held for more than 80 days. NBC News spoke to one family held for nine months. 'Really sad and angry all the time' The Flores monitors have obtained sworn statements from children describing stress and lack of sleep. One 13‑year‑old held for almost two months wrote: “I feel really sad and angry all the time. I don’t want to die here. And I don’t want to live here either.” Wolozin said Dilley offers little for children to do — about an hour of schooling a day and “very few toys.” DHS response In a statement to NBC, the Department of Homeland Security said children at Dilley “have access to age‑appropriate books, toys, and outdoor activities,” and said the Dilley facility “is retrofitted for families.” The statement went on to say, “Being in detention is a choice. We encourage all parents to take control of their departure…” “The United States is offering illegal aliens $2,600 and a free flight to self‑deport now,” the DHS statement said. Imagn ImagesImagn Images We asked DHS why ICE officials are holding children for more than 20 days, but the agency did not directly answer that question. The contractor that operates the facility, CoreCivic, said “…staff provide respectful and humane support to residents…” "CoreCivic does not enforce immigration laws, arrest anyone who may be in violation of immigration laws, or have any say in an individual's deportation or release, including the length of their stay," the company statement said, adding "Those decisions rest solely with the federal government." Claims of pressure to leave the U.S. Another Flores monitor, Sergio Perez, executive director of the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law, believes prolonged family detention is part of a government strategy to pressure parents to abandon asylum claims or other legal petitions to remain in the U.S. “We encounter folks who are being pressured to self‑deport every second of every day,” Perez said. Edward Ayala, NBC 5 InvestigatesEdward Ayala, NBC 5 InvestigatesSergio Perez, executive director of the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law. The Herrera-Vargas family said that happened to them. They said immigration officials repeatedly urged them to self‑deport, later escalating, they said, to what they perceived to be threats that their daughter could be separated from them if they refused to leave. “Then I said, 'no more,'” Yerson said. “I don’t want to put up with that anymore. I don’t want our daughter to put up with more things — and that was the decision to stop.” They were deported to Colombia, which they said they fled fearing gang violence and threats tied to Yerson’s work in a youth anti‑drug program. Families 'prolong their own detention' DHS told us the family “received FULL due process,” saying, “An immigration judge issued them a final order of removal in January 2024, and their appeal was denied.” The agency also said the family “... refused to cooperate to get the necessary travel documents to return to Colombia,” adding that families who refuse “… prolong their own detention …” Edward Ayala, NBC 5 InvestigatesEdward Ayala, NBC 5 InvestigatesYerson Herrera and Kelly Vargas. The Herrera‑Vargas family and their attorney told us they were in the process of applying for another type of visa that would allow them to remain in the U.S. But they said they could not resist deportation and stay at Dilley longer, given their concerns about their daughter's condition in detention and what they believed to be threats of separation. Perez said many families at Dilley came to the U.S. to escape violence and followed the rules when they arrived, by pursuing asylum or refugee petitions. He said many continued to attend court hearings in their cases and to follow legal processes after they were arrested and detained. He said prolonged detention can push parents to abandon their cases simply to free their children. A protest and a high‑profile case In January, families detained at Dilley staged a demonstration, following national headlines surrounding the case of 5‑year‑old Liam Ramos — a Minnesota boy arrested by ICE and taken to Dilley with his father. A federal judge later ordered Liam’s release, calling the decision to detain him cruel. Edward Ayala, NBC 5 InvestigatesEdward Ayala, NBC 5 Investigates Flores monitors argue the same is true for all children held at Dilley beyond 20 days. “Where is the threat that a 5‑year‑old, 13‑year‑old, 14‑year‑old presents? There is none,” Perez said. “And we should be screaming about this situation.” The future of Flores The Trump administration is seeking to overturn the Flores Settlement, which would end court monitoring at facilities like Dilley. Currently, courts can order ICE to correct Flores violations, release children, or require additional monitoring. The administration argues the monitoring interferes with its authority to set immigration policy. A federal appeals court decision is pending.