Two year old Kaleth. Actively starving inside South Texas Family Residential Center. Dilley Texas.
The Reality Inside: Food as a Weapon
Ten straight days without a single bite of food.
Detainees inside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility report the exact same pattern at every meal:
Mold visible on the trays.
Worms crawling through the portions.
Food served rotten.
Food served contaminated.
Food served as a weapon.
The physical toll is immediate and catastrophic. His fever is now spiking. His body weight is dropping fast. His organs are beginning to shut down.
This is not neglect. This is the system extracting profit from a toddler’s collapse.
Mother Joani begged facility staff for immediate help. She described the refusal to eat. She described the visible decline. Staff response was clinical dismissal: the two year old’s condition is mental. No medical intervention ordered. No pediatric consult escalated. Reality denied. Dying child denied. Record logged as behavioral issue instead of medical emergency.
The Medical Reality: Organ Failure in Real Time
Medical reality registers organ failure in real time. Dr. Anita Patel, a board certified Pediatric ICU physician, reviewed the case file and detainee reports. She sounded the public alarm in her latest video update.
The child has been held in the medical unit for hours while his condition deteriorates. This is the direct quote from Dr. Patel:
“I take care of the children who are dying. This child is being starved by our government. A toddler’s organs cannot survive this. Kidneys. Liver. Heart. All under siege. This is medicine. ICE is doing this right now to a baby.”
No euphemism. No delay. Straight clinical fact.
The Business of Cruelty: 180 Million Dollars a Year
The facility is operated on behalf of ICE by CoreCivic, a private, for profit corrections corporation. Their contract locks in approximately 180 million dollars in annual revenue from the Dilley site alone through at least March 2030.
Public affairs manager Brian Todd recently issued the standard corporate statement, claiming that health and safety remain top priorities.
The ground level record shows the exact opposite. Inside those trailers, the reality includes:
Chronic sleep deprivation, documented across multiple detainee accounts.
Repeated shortages of clean drinking water.
Prompt medical attention routinely delayed or denied.
Two confirmed measles cases just last month.
And now, a two year old boy wastes away in plain view.
Yet, the revenue stream continues uninterrupted. The profit model remains perfectly intact.
The Political Demand: End the Commodification of Child Suffering
U.S. Congressman Joaquin Castro has tracked the Dilley operation for years, and his demand is unequivocal: an immediate shutdown.
Speaking directly on the reality of the facility, Castro stated:
“As a country we have made the decision to commodify child suffering. We have allowed investors to profit from the imprisonment of innocent children. Some are as young as two months old. We must shut down the Dilley trailer prison and FreeOurChildren.”
Addressing the specific cruelty inflicted upon two year old Kaleth, Castro added:
“When his mother asked for help the staff said it was all mental. A vulnerable child at the Dilley trailer prison was suffering and ICE denied their reality and their needs. It is shameful and must stop.”
The demand from Castro’s office is clear. ICE must provide proper medical care to Kaleth and release him and his mother, Joani, immediately.
Right now, his office continues pressing ICE leadership to surrender unredacted medical logs and secure their full, unconditional release.
The Machine Does Not Break on Its Own: Action Plan for Kaleth
This is not isolated failure. This is engineered extraction. CoreCivic built the trailers. ICE fills them. Children become line items. Silence from the public keeps the checks clearing. The machine does not break on its own. It must be forced.
Throw sand in the gears right now. Amplify without mercy. Share Dr. Anita Patel’s full video update. Flood every platform with the hashtag #FreeOurChildren. Tag every elected official in your district and demand they publicly join Congressman Castro in calling for the immediate closure of the Dilley facility and the release of every family held there.
Flood the phones. Flood the faxes. Flood the emails. Jam every line until Kaleth’s name is logged in every office. Do not let any office rest. Mention Kaleth by name. Demand immediate pediatric intervention and family release. Force them to log the pressure.
📞 THE CONTACT SHEET: MAKE THEM HEAR YOU
1. The Facility: South Texas Family Residential Center (Dilley)
Main phone: 830 378 6500 (8am to 10pm daily)
Instructions: Press 0 or 1 for administration or leave an urgent medical message.
Facility Administrator (Jose Rodriguez Jr) Direct: 830 378 6500 ext 2001
PSA Compliance Manager: 830 378 6500 ext 2100
Medical Unit Direct: 830 378 6500 ext 3000
Attorney Visits Email: SouthTexasAttorneyVisits@corecivic.com
Address: 300 El Rancho Way, Dilley, TX 78017
2. The Agency: ICE San Antonio Field Office
Main phone: 210 283 4750 (Ask for the ERO supervisor on duty)
ERO Community and Detainee Helpline: 1 888 351 4024
Detention Reporting Hotline: 1 866 DHS 2 ICE (1 866 347 2423)
HSI San Antonio Fax: 210 979 4643
Outreach Email: SanAntonio.Outreach@ice.dhs.gov
Address: 1777 NE Loop 410 Floor 15, San Antonio, TX 78217
3. The Profiteers: CoreCivic Corporate Headquarters
CEO Damon Hininger Direct Attention Line: 615 263 3000
Corporate Phone: 615 263 3000
Corporate Fax: 615 263 3140
Employment Verification Fax Only: 615 242 5826
Toll Free Investor Line: 1 800 624 2931
Investor Relations Phone: 615 263 3024
Investor Relations Email: Joseph.Bachmann@corecivic.com
Address: 5501 Virginia Way Suite 110, Brentwood, TN 37027
4. The Political Pressure: Congressman Joaquin Castro
Demand he take immediate, escalated action for Kaleth.
San Antonio District Office Phone: 210 348 8216
San Antonio District Office Fax: 210 979 0737
Address: 727 E Cesar E Chavez Blvd Suite B 128, San Antonio, TX 78206
DC Office Phone: 202 225 3236
DC Office Fax: 202 225 1915
Email Contact Form: castro.house.gov/contact (Use subject line: Immediate medical intervention for 2yo Kaleth in Dilley)
5. National Oversight: ICE Reporting Lines
Tip Line for Medical Neglect: 1 866 DHS 2 ICE
Office of Detention Oversight Complaint Line: 1 800 323 1200
ICE Office of Professional Responsibility: 1 877 2 ICE TIP (1 877 242 3847)
FOIA Fax for Records Requests: 202 732 4265
Keep eyes on ICE. Do not let this story get buried in the news cycle. Talk about Kaleth in every group chat. Share this record on every platform. Make it impossible for the administration and CoreCivic to hide what they are doing to children in their custody.
Witness it. Pressure it. The profit stops when the pressure does not. Act now.
