An Indian family of four was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and transferred to a family jail. (Left: Gauri; Right: Manpreet and her mother)
The Indian family of four – parents and two children – completes nearly 90 days in the Dilley Detention Center in Texas, their future looking bleak and their health deteriorating. They were arrested in February during a routine check-in appointment and placed at the controversial center that reopened after Donald Trump’s administration resumed family detentions last year.
YouTuber Ms. Rachel, who has been calling for the closure of the ICE detention center, visited Dilly and met with the Indian family.“I never thought I would advocate for getting families out of prison. It was an honor to meet this kind, hardworking family. Please release them. Jory is not getting proper care due to bleeding when he goes to the bathroom, which constitutes serious medical negligence,” Rachel wrote.Gauri is a 12-year-old boy in the family who was suffering from blood in his stool. This began before his arrest, but he did not receive any treatment after the entire family was arrested and detained in the family prison. His 11-year-old sister, Manpreet, was vomiting frequently because the tap water hurt her stomach. “Both kids were very sweet, but you could tell they were depressed,” Rachel wrote.
Rachel wrote, “Their mother’s condition is deteriorating due to her not getting proper medicines and treatment for diabetes and arthritis. Manpreet and Gauri care a lot about their mother and are very worried about her, taking care of her as it is difficult for her to move due to the pain. Both the children are unable to sleep properly at night as the lights are on 24/7. Their father was working hard at 7-11 and used Uber to make ends meet. He burst into tears several times. Mrs Rachel added: ‘It is an honor to meet their kind family who She works hard, and it was devastating to see them all deteriorating from prison-like family detention.” Father Jagdish came to the United States in 2022 seeking asylum. According to reports, he cited constant threats and violence in his community in Punjab, India, where he converted from Sikhism to Catholicism. The family settled in central Los Angeles, near Jagdish’s brother’s family.Gurwinder and the children practice the Sikh Hindu religion and are supposed to eat vegetarian food on Tuesdays and Thursdays but there are no vegetarian options at the detention centre. So on those days, they don’t eat anything.“I’m afraid I came here to save myself, and I ended up ruining the lives of three people,” Jagdish said in an interview with The Guardian earlier.
