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Amanda Aguilar is a staff attorney at American Gateways in San Antonio. She represents multiple families detained at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center and said her clients claim the tap water there is foul.
“The water that they have smells like bleach and it’s not really drinkable," said Aguilar. “So, for them to have water that they can drink, they have to pay $3 per bottle of water. Or $39 for a 12-pack of water."
Aguilar said one thing that's consistent between all of her clients, whether they were detained out of San Antonio, El Paso, Austin, or another check-in office, is that they were all concerned about the water situation. She said it was causing stomach issues for many of them, emphasizing that people who have medical conditions are much worse off than healthier detainees, considering the lack of available medical care at the facility.
One of Aguilar's clients spent more than $ 900 in 20 days on water, food, and phone calls. All of a detained person's cash is put into a commissary, and direct access to their bank account is cut off, so they have to depend on friends and family to receive money they need while in detention.
Aguilar files habeas corpus petitions and is challenging the legality of initial detention and adequacy of conditions for children at Dilley. She says the only thing they can do right now is sue ICE.
"I plan to keep suing them, and hopefully just keep educating people on what's going on there so we can have humanity and dignity for all families," said Aguilar.
In a February 2026 news release from ICE, titled "Debunking the mainstream media lies about South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas," ICE Director Todd M. Lyons states that detainees receive "medical care, educational services, recreational opportunities and essential daily living needs."
Federal contractor Core Civic operates Dilley. Their website states that the facility gets the same clean drinking water supplied to the town.
Dilley’s water department hasn’t released a water quality report since 2024.
