As the Trump administration has deployed ICE officers across several states, it has disrupted the lives of children, causing what critics describe as generational trauma. From using them as bait to unlawfully detaining them, their actions have drawn criticism. However, they are now facing new accusations of raiding children’s dorms and ripping up letters in which they prayed for freedom.
According to Pablo Manríquez, editor of Migrant Insider, he posted an update on X. He reported that at the ICE detention facility in Dilley, Texas, federal officers have started conducting raids on the dormitories of the children and their families.
This was done to ensure that they “confiscate and destroy letters from the children” so that none of it would be released to the public. At first, it seemed to be a baseless accusation. But a video of the incident showed a 15-year-old Cariexis Quintero saying,
“They noticed we were writing letters asking for freedom. So they entered our room to rip them up. They threw away all my drawings—my mom liked them.”
Leaked video shows ICE raid children’s dorm—destroy handwritten letters & drawings before they can be mailed.
“They noticed we were writing letters asking for freedom,” she says. “So they entered our room to rip them up.”
“They threw away all my drawings—my mom liked them,”… pic.twitter.com/xHwS5aDQDS
— LongTime🤓FirstTime👨💻 (@LongTimeHistory) February 17, 2026
Quintero’s mother also spoke of the incident in the same video, stating that the guards entered their cell hunting for drawings and letters. She added that the guards destroyed what they found, showing pieces of torn drawings and letters. The actions were a clear retaliation after drawings and letters of eight kids made it outside the Texas detention center.
Manríquez’s tweet received widespread attention from people, criticizing the Trump administration and how it is dehumanizing immigrants. An X user wrote, “This [is] all starting to look like Nazi Germany. Trump must go. Remove him from office.” Another user used profanity to condemn Trump, ICE and MAGA supporters, writing, “You have never cared about babies or children.”
A third lambasted Donald Trump and his cabinet members, writing, “This administration constantly sinks to new lows.” Another user added, “This is pure evil, demonic behavior and it’s coming straight from the top of the Trump Administration.”
And conservatives continue to unanimously cheer. We need to make peace with the fact that they are an existential threat to our safety.
If conservatives were actually demons who feed on other people’s pain and suffering, what would they be doing differently?
— Swaguar (@SwaguarTV) February 17, 2026
ProPublica reported on the drawings and letters of these kids, who shared the horrors of the Dilley Immigration Processing Center. Ariana V. V., a 14-year-old from Honduras, shared that she has been detained for 45 days and that grave danger awaits their family once they are deported to their home country. V. V. added,
“Since I got to this Center all you will feel is sadness and mostly depression.”
She explained that the ICE officers are not following the law and are not providing them with their basic rights or medical attention. She added that the agents do not take anything seriously because “there are no consequences.”
Gaby M.M., a 14-year-old, expressed ‘sadness and depression at being unable to leave.’ They felt sad because the asylum/immigration cases were being denied, and migrants were rushed to be deported back to their countries.
