Hayam El Gamal and her five children ages 5 to 18 have been detained for 10 months inside the South Texas Family Concentration Camp.
They are among the longest held families there, enduring what they describe as mentally and physically devastating conditions alongside hundreds of others still inside facing the same reality.
Reports describe food contaminated with worms and mold, drinking water causing illness, and lights kept on 24/7, depriving children of sleep.
Medical care is delayed or denied, including critical medications for conditions like anxiety and autism. In early 2026, a 13 year old girl attempted suicide after being denied her medication during a lockdown.
Families are crowded into small trailers—sometimes up to 12 people in a single space with no privacy. Detainees also report punitive measures, including guards destroying children’s drawings and using threats of family separation as a form of control.
This facility is operated by CoreCivic under contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a system where detention is not just policy, but business. Private ownership means companies are paid to keep beds full, turning the confinement of families into profit, and raising urgent questions about the ethics of profiting from human suffering.
On the ground reporting and music by Jeff Dazey
Edited and written by Jose Mejia
