SAN ANTONIO \u2013 A teenage girl from San Antonio, and her father, are currently detained in the Dilley South Texas Family Residential Center, U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro said Tuesday during a news conference.<\/p>\n
Castro and four other members of congress visited detainees to talk about the conditions inside the ICE facility. During the two hour visit Castro says he saw worsening health conditions from his previous visits. <\/p>\n
U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley said 539 people are currently held in the facility. Castro said the last time he visited, there were less than 100 people there.<\/p>\n
Among the current detainees, Pressley says there are 84 families and at least one is from San Antonio.<\/p>\n
A 16-year-old girl spoke with Castro and stated she was detained on her way to a San Antonio church with a friend. She was taken to a local processing center and spent two days there.<\/p>\n
Immigration authorities called her father to let her know she was detained, according to Castro.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey told her dad they we\u2019re going to send her out of state if he didn\u2019t pick her up,\u201d Castro said. \u201cHe could pick her up and take her home.\u201d<\/p>\n
When the father showed up, he was also detained, Castro said.<\/p>\n
KSAT has reached out to Castro\u2019s office for additional details regarding the detained family from San Antonio and will update once we receive more information.<\/p>\n
Conditions at the facility<\/p>\n
Tuesday marks Castro\u2019s seventh visit to the ICE facility in Dilley. Throughout those visits, a common issue Castro expressed was concerns about worsening conditions inside the facility.<\/p>\n
Members of congress who visited also invited Dr. Anita K. Patel, a pediatric critical care attending physician. She described her job as someone who recognizes threats to children\u2019s health and treats children when they\u2019re critically ill.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe children detained are experiencing severe, predictable and lasting harm,\u201d Patel said. She cited \u201cinadequate bedding, inadequate food and inadequate water\u201d as some of the issues she observed.<\/p>\n