DILLEY, Texas — Laura Rojas Ortiz, a 21-year-old Colombian mother approximately five to six months pregnant, and her two-year-old son Miguel Ángel remain confined at the South Texas Family Residential Center after more than 40 days in ICE custody. They were taken during a routine check-in in the Dallas area despite a pending U visa application tied to their status as crime victims.
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Background
Rojas Ortiz entered the United States over a year ago, presenting herself at the southern border with her infant son and partner. She was placed under monitoring with an ankle bracelet and complied with regular ICE check-ins. Less than a year before her detention, a drive-by shooting outside their North Dallas home sent bullets through the walls. Security footage captured the aftermath. Both Rojas Ortiz and her son were grazed by gunfire. The child sustained facial injuries that required reconstructive surgery on his nose. As victims who assisted law enforcement, they became eligible for a U visa.
On the day of her scheduled check-in, ICE detained her and her toddler and transferred them to Dilley, the large CoreCivic-operated family detention facility roughly 85 miles north of Laredo. As of mid-August 2026 reporting, they had been held more than 40 days.
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Medical Care and Dietary Failures
Rojas Ortiz has described ongoing abdominal pain. Family members and her own statements from inside the facility report no routine prenatal ultrasounds, no specialist obstetric care, and incomplete basic blood work despite the high-risk nature of the pregnancy. Facility staff reportedly attributed her pain primarily to muscle soreness. DHS has stated that she was evaluated within 24 hours of arrival, provided prenatal vitamins, a lower bunk, evening snacks, and a referral for an obstetrics appointment, with additional assessments recorded on specific dates in June and July. Family and advocates reject the characterization that care has been adequate.
Her son is lactose intolerant. Staff have declined to provide formula or non-dairy alternatives on the grounds of his age, instead offering cow’s milk diluted with water. The child has suffered repeated digestive illness and diarrhea as a result. Rojas Ortiz told Univision from inside the facility that staff would not even give him water for proper preparation. Her mother, speaking from Colombia, has voiced acute fear for both her daughter’s high-risk pregnancy and her grandson’s health and emotional state under these conditions.
Advocates note that ICE’s own written policy generally prohibits the detention of known pregnant, postpartum, or nursing individuals except in exceptional circumstances. Lawmakers who visited Dilley reported that pregnant women were moved out of sight during the tour.
The facility itself consists of long rows of modular buildings, fenced yards, playground equipment, and controlled indoor spaces. Crowds of detained parents and children in matching rain jackets are routinely visible in the courtyards. Inside, children occupy classrooms and recreation rooms decorated with patriotic murals while the surrounding infrastructure remains a privatized detention operation holding hundreds of families at a time.
This is the material reality of the current enforcement apparatus: a pregnant crime victim who complied with monitoring is locked with her toddler in a privatized family detention center while basic prenatal care and appropriate nutrition for a lactose-intolerant two-year-old are contested or withheld. Pending U visa status offers no shield from the machinery once the decision to detain is made.
Citations and Sources
ABC News reporting (Laura Romero), August 6–7, 2026: detailed family statements, DHS response, and advocacy accounts. https://abcnews.com/US/21-year-pregnant-mom-detained-dilley-facility-month/story?id=135393694
Univision / N+ reporting (including direct interview with Rojas Ortiz from inside Dilley), August 12–13, 2026: medical and dietary conditions, son identified as Miguel Ángel, mother’s concerns from Colombia. https://www.univision.com/noticias/no-me-quieren-dar-ni-agua-para-el-mujer-embarazada-es-detenida-con-su-hijo-y-denuncia-malos-tratos-en-centro-de-detencion-de-ice-video
Additional ABC affiliate and NewsBreak syndication of the same reporting confirming timeline, U visa context, and ICE medical claims.
Facility context drawn from contemporaneous Texas Tribune, TPR, and related 2025–2026 coverage of Dilley operations and conditions.
