The Heartbreaking Letters of Children Held at Dilley Detention Center

Every child deserves to feel safe, loved, and at home. Right now, in our country, children made in God’s image are lying awake in detention—far from home, far from comfort, and wondering when they will be free. Over the past year, over 4,000 children have been detained by ICE. And every day, ICE detains 175 more.

At the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in South Texas, hundreds of children are being held alongside their parents. In early February, more than 750 families were detained there, nearly half of them with children.

Many of these children have been in Dilley for over 100 days, and some for almost a year. Inside, they are waiting—and they are writing letters to be heard. Waiting without clear timelines. Waiting without certainty. Waiting, as one child wrote, for a freedom they cannot see: “I have been here too long.”

The World Through a Child’s Eyes

A rainbow. A heart. A family holding hands.

These are the drawings found in handwritten letters from children inside Dilley. They are simple, but they carry a weight no child should have to bear.

In letters shared publicly earlier this year, children describe what life feels like behind those walls. Many had been living in the United States before they were detained. Now, they write about missing their friends, their teachers, and the classrooms where they once felt normal. They worry about falling behind in school. They describe being sick—sometimes often—and not always feeling cared for. Above all, they describe fear.

Fear of how long they will be there. Fear of what will happen next. Fear of being forgotten.

Letters from Dilley

Deep in Texas sits a place most Americans will never see. But inside, children are writing.

Their letters bring their voices forward—not filtered, not reframed, but shared as they are. Because sometimes the most powerful thing we can do is listen.

In their words, we hear longing. In their drawings, we see hope. In their questions, we feel their uncertainty.

And in their voices, we are reminded: these are children first.

As Christians, we are called to respond to suffering with compassion and action. We cannot look away from the pain of children and remain unchanged. Their dignity matters. Their safety matters. Their lives matter.

Join us in praying that leaders will take action to protect these children, their health, and their dignity. Pray for wisdom, for compassion, and for the courage to do what is right.

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