An 18-month-old child identified in a federal court complaint as "Amalia" was returned to immigration custody following a hospitalization for a severe respiratory illness and was allegedly deprived of prescribed medications and nutrition, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court in Texas.
The suit says that Amalia, her parents and their family were detained after a routine check-in with immigration authorities on December 11 and held at a U.S. detention facility in Dilley, Texas. The child was hospitalized from January 18 to January 28 after developing a high fever and acute breathing problems, the lawsuit alleges.
Legal counsel for the family said the three were released by immigration authorities in President Donald Trump’s administration after the parents sued on Friday seeking their release. The suit had requested freedom for all three family members.
According to the complaint, the child experienced a fever on January 1 that reached as high as 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius), began vomiting frequently and exhibited labored breathing. She was taken to the hospital on January 18 with extremely low oxygen saturation levels and received diagnoses including COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus, viral bronchitis and pneumonia. While hospitalized, she was placed on supplemental oxygen.
At discharge the child was provided a nebulizer and a respiratory medication, and was given nutritional drinks after losing roughly 10 percent of her body weight, the complaint states. The lawsuit alleges that detention center staff confiscated both the respiratory treatments and the nutritional supplements when the child returned to Dilley.
"Baby Amalia should never have been detained. She nearly died at Dilley," said Elora Mukherjee, an attorney representing the family.
Mukherjee also stated in court filings that hundreds of children and families held at the Dilley facility lack adequate drinking water, nutritious food, educational opportunities and appropriate medical care, and called for their release.
The lawsuit additionally states that the Dilley facility was experiencing a measles outbreak at the time Amalia was returned to custody following her hospitalization.
The complaint notes that Amalia’s parents are originally from Venezuela and have lived in the United States with their daughter since 2024. The child holds Mexican citizenship, and the lawsuit says all three intend to file asylum applications in the United States.
The filing comes amid broader legal challenges to the administration’s immigration enforcement practices. The complaint references criticism of the administration in other court rulings, including a January 31 federal judge’s order in Michigan directing the release of a 5-year-old boy who had been detained; the administration is seeking to deport that child, the lawsuit notes.
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment, according to the filing. The lawsuit also notes that another news organization first reported on the legal action.
Summary of allegations and developments:
- Amalia, an 18-month-old detained at Dilley, Texas, was hospitalized from January 18 to January 28 with multiple respiratory illnesses and extremely low oxygen levels.
- After her discharge she allegedly had prescribed respiratory medication, a nebulizer and nutritional drinks taken from her by detention staff upon return to custody.
- The family filed suit in federal court and were reported to have been released by immigration authorities following the filing; the suit sought the release of all three family members.
The complaint raises specific medical and welfare concerns about the treatment of children in immigration detention, and it places the Dilley facility’s conditions and outbreak control practices at the center of the dispute.