1 month ago
When Tania Warner and her seven-year-old daughter, Ayla, were released aft astir 3 weeks of detention by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), nan Canadian mother’s joyousness astatine regaining her state was tempered by nan knowledge of nan galore families who remained incarcerated.
“They were awesome people. I conscionable loved them and I cried truthful difficult erstwhile I left, I conscionable wanted to return them each pinch me,” she said.
Warner and Ayla were held successful 2 ICE accommodation successful southbound Texas, alongside families from Venezuela, Egypt, El Salvador, Russia and galore different nations.
Not each of them said English – aliases moreover shared a communal lingua – but nan gruelling acquisition of detention helped forge kinship crossed identities and languages, said Warner.“I felt camaraderie … we each were agreed by our experience,” she said.
Immigration detainees “are suffering greatly”, enduring months of imprisonment pinch nary owed process, pinch nan changeless fearfulness of separation from their children and nary dream of freedom, Warner said.
Like Warner, astir of them had committed nary criminal offence, but had alternatively fallen afoul of Donald Trump’s migration crackdown, which has swept up tens of thousands of people. “They’re conscionable victims … What nan [US] management is doing is incorrect and illegal,” she said.
Warner and Ayla were primitively held astatine Rio Grande vale cardinal processing halfway successful McAllen, Texas, earlier they were transferred to nan Dilley detention halfway connected 20 March.
Dilley has been criticized for a deficiency of due wellness attraction and nutrient for nan families detained. In February, nan halfway reported 2 bales cases. At nan extremity of March, Joaquin Castro, a Democratic US congressman, said there was a two-year-old successful Dilley who is sick and not getting due help.
A study this period by Human Rights First and RAICES described “pervasive abuses against families and children” successful detention and recovered that much than 5,600 group had been imprisoned astatine Dilley betwixt April 2025 and February 2026, including toddlers and newborn babies. It recovered that families were regularly detained for months successful usurpation of tribunal limits, were pressured to wantonness asylum claims and were often subjected to threats of being separated. During her clip successful Dilley, Warner was perpetually pressured by guards to “self-deport”.
Warner and her girl are from British Columbia, but moved to Kingsville, Texas, successful 2021 erstwhile she joined her American husband, Edward.
On 14 March, nan family was driving location from a babe ablution successful Raymondville, Texas, erstwhile they were stopped astatine a separator patrol checkpoint successful Sarita. Both Warner and Ayla, who was precocious diagnosed pinch autism, were taken speech to beryllium fingerprinted and were past detained.
Warner maintains that their documents are successful order, and that she is legally capable to unrecorded and activity successful nan US until 8 June 2030. She provided nan Guardian pinch a photograph of her employment authorisation card, which has that expiry date.
They were released connected 3 April connected a $9,500 bond and are now grappling pinch nan fallout from their detention – and looming fears complete their position to stay successful nan country. The US is still seeking to deport them, and nan family must cheque successful often pinch ICE. Warner must deterioration an ankle show and is not permitted to recreation much than 75 miles extracurricular of her home.
On 16 April, she and Ayla will request to recreation to Harlingen, Texas, for a gathering pinch their enslaved officer. To get there, they again person to recreation past an ICE checkpoint.
“I’m terrified, I don’t cognize if they’re going to effort to re-detain us,” she said.
Most of nan families she encountered successful detention were from Latin America, said Warner. Parents who had been professionals successful their location countries were moving astatine McDonald’s aliases building activity to support their children successful nan US, earlier they were picked up by ICE, she said.
One Russian family had sought asylum erstwhile nan begetter faced conscription to conflict successful Ukraine, a conflict he opposed. “They’re being punished now, they’re successful jailhouse for that,” she said.
The Human Rights First and RAICES study recovered that conditions successful Dilley were “unsafe and degrading, pinch inadequate entree to food, water, individual hygiene, and basal care, peculiarly harming children”.
Both Warner and her girl developed a persistent, reddish rash that she said were caused by nan harsh detergents utilized to cleanable their detention uniforms: a azygous brace of sweatpants, a T-shirt and sweater.
The installation smells powerfully of astringent bleach and cleaners, Warner recalled.
“The chemicals … they were utilizing destroyed my daughter’s skin,” she said. She said Ayla did not wholly understand nan realities of detention and was mostly confused by their inability to move astir arsenic they pleased.
Approached for remark connected 20 March, ICE asked for much accusation astir nan Warners’ case. The Guardian provided that information, but adjacent to 3 weeks, ICE has not replied, contempt follow-ups.
When asked astir Warner and Ayla’s lawsuit instantly aft their detention, Global Affairs Canada, nan national ministry that handles consular services and negotiated relations, said it was “aware of aggregate cases of Canadians presently aliases antecedently successful immigration-related detention successful nan US”.
“Consular officials advocator for Canadian citizens overseas and raise concerns astir justified and superior complaints of ill-treatment aliases favoritism pinch nan section authorities but cannot exempt Canadians from section ineligible processes,” a spokesperson said. “Due to privateness considerations, nary further accusation tin beryllium disclosed.”
When asked for remark regarding their release, Global Affairs said it did not person thing further to add.
