The family, including the mother and her five children, detail in letters what they describe as neglectful medical care, inedible food and a disregard for their religious accommodations. They’ve been imprisoned at the nation’s only family detention center for more than nine months and are believed to be the longest held there.
Lomi Kriel
Lomi Kriel is a statewide investigative reporter for The Texas Tribune. Previously, she was a founding member of the Tribune’s investigative unit with ProPublica, joining the initiative in 2020 before leaving for the Tribune in November 2025. Before joining ProPublica, Kriel reported on immigration for the Houston Chronicle, often focused on the Texas border. Months before Trump’s first administration announced its family separation policy, Kriel uncovered it in 2017. Kriel is a two-time Pulitzer finalist, in 2018 as part of the Houston Chronicle’s Hurricane Harvey coverage, and in 2024 for the Tribune’s reporting with ProPublica and FRONTLINE PBS on the Uvalde school shooting. She is a George Polk Award winner, National Magazine Award winner, Edward R. Murrow winner, and Emmy nominee, among other accolades. Kriel, who was born and raised in South Africa, immigrated to the United States in 1998. She has worked as a Central American correspondent for Thomson Reuters and a criminal justice reporter for the San Antonio Express-News, among other publications. Kriel is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and Columbia University and speaks Afrikaans and Spanish.
Posted in
Immigration
ICE replacing operator of El Paso detention camp, report says
The Washington Post reported that a document was distributed to ICE staff indicating the agency was drafting a letter to potentially terminate the facility’s $1.2 billion contract.
Posted in
Immigration
Teen mariachis and family from McAllen released from ICE custody
The detention of the family of asylum seekers after a routine check-in with immigration officials had caused an uproar in their community.
Posted in
State Government
Footage shows the run-up to immigration officer’s fatal shooting of Texas man
The clips, from multiple angles, don’t include everything, including key audio. But lawyers for the man’s family argue they refute the Trump administration’s explanation that his killing was self-defense
Posted in
Immigration
14 measles cases reported at El Paso ICE tent camp as Democrats call for its shuttering
The latest outbreak comes after a spate of COVID-19 and tuberculosis cases were reported at Camp East Montana, which holds more than 3,000 immigrants.
Posted in
2026 Texas Elections
Rep. Veronica Escobar, two dozen Democrats call on ICE to close troubled El Paso detention camp
Three deaths have been reported recently at the hastily constructed camp. One was ruled a homicide involving staff. Claims of medical neglect and unsanitary conditions are rife.
Posted in
2026 Texas Elections
Seis muertes en seis semanas: Lo que hay que saber sobre las detenciones de ICE en Texas
El año pasado hubo más muertes dentro de los centros de detención de ICE que en ningún otro en las últimas dos décadas. Casi una cuarta parte de esas muertes ocurrieron en Texas.
Posted in
Immigration
Six deaths in six weeks: What to know about ICE detentions in Texas
Last year was the deadliest year in ICE detention in two decades. Nearly a quarter of those deaths occurred in Texas.
Posted in
Immigration
Cuban man’s death at El Paso tent camp was result of “spontaneous use of force,” ICE says
His death is the first homicide in ICE custody in recent history, experts said. It comes after the deadliest year in ICE detention in decades.
Posted in
Immigration
Two cases of tuberculosis detected at El Paso ICE facility
Officials said 18 cases of COVID-19 were also identified at the 5,000-bed tent Fort Bliss Army facility, where a Democratic congresswoman said many “chronic issues” persist.