Inside ICE Detention: A 19-Year-Old’s Nightmare That Never Ends

Olivia’s day stretches out like a slow-moving nightmare. At just 19, she has been locked inside the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas for more than four months. This sprawling facility, a former prison reopened under the Trump administration, has held about 5,600 immigrants since last year—more than half of them children.

Her story is not unique. It is a window into the cruelty of a system that tears families apart and cages vulnerable people fleeing persecution. Olivia and her family fled the Democratic Republic of the Congo after suffering political persecution, enduring a harrowing journey through South America to reach the United States. But instead of safety, they found detention and separation.

After being apprehended at the border, Olivia was separated from her mother and two younger siblings because she was legally an adult. While her family was sent directly to Dilley, Olivia was shuffled through multiple detention centers, forced to wear shackles that left scars on her wrists and ankles. She describes one cold New York facility as “the fridge,” where she was left without a coat in freezing conditions.

Now confined at Dilley with around 225 other single adult women, Olivia endures sleepless nights filled with nightmares about her lost brother Manuel, who drowned during their journey, and the trauma of her detention. Diagnosed with PTSD and major depressive disorder by a mental health professional, she struggles with exhaustion, headaches, and worsening eyesight without access to proper medical care.

Her days begin early with a sparse breakfast, followed by hours spent in bed, lacking the energy or motivation to move much. Only occasionally does she find moments of connection, like the day she discovered her mother and siblings were held just a few yards away in a separate part of the facility. That reunion brought tears, but also laughter—a rare glimmer of hope amid despair.

Human rights advocates, pediatricians, and lawmakers have repeatedly called for the closure of Dilley and an end to the detention of children and families. Yet the Trump administration continues to operate the center, perpetuating a system of family separation, trauma, and indefinite detention.

Olivia’s story is a stark reminder of the human cost behind the headlines about immigration enforcement. This nightmare is not just hers—it is the daily reality for thousands trapped in ICE detention centers across the country. And until these facilities are shut down, the nightmare will continue.