18-month-old Amalia hospitalized with pneumonia and COVID, denied prescribed medications upon return to ICE detention
Feb 7, 2026·Location: Dilley, TX
Country of origin: Mexico

Amalia, an 18-month-old Venezuelan girl, arrived in the United States with her parents Kheilin Valero Marcano and Stiven Arrieta Prieto through the CBP One appointment system and was living in El Paso while awaiting asylum processing. On December 11, 2024, the family was arrested during a routine ICE check-in despite complying with all immigration requirements and checking in regularly. They were detained at Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas. In early January 2026, Amalia developed a high fever, vomiting, and breathing difficulties. Despite her parents' repeated requests for medical care at the facility's clinic, staff provided only Tylenol. On January 18, her oxygen levels dropped critically to the 50s, and she was rushed to Methodist Children's Hospital in San Antonio, where she was hospitalized for 10 days and diagnosed with pneumonia, COVID-19, RSV, and viral bronchitis. After discharge on January 28, doctors prescribed nebulized breathing treatments and nutritional supplements. ICE returned Amalia to Dilley detention instead of her prior community, where staff confiscated her nebulizer, albuterol, and nutritional supplements. Her parents were forced to wait daily in an outdoor 'pill line' and were frequently turned away without her prescribed medications. After her attorneys filed an emergency federal habeas corpus petition, the family was released in February 2026. Upon release, they were transported to a shelter in Laredo without her medications, birth certificate, vaccination records, or money for travel. Amalia developed behavioral changes after detention, crying when separated from her mother. Her case is one of more than 500 infants and toddlers under age three detained by ICE since January 2025, according to documentation by MS NOW and The Marshall Project.
Timeline
Sources
- Reuters
- Toddler hospitalized with respiratory failure was returned to ICE detention and denied prescribed medication, lawsuit says
NBC News·Feb 9, 2026·archived copy
- 18-month-old girl hospitalized with respiratory failure in ICE detention, lawyers say
independent.co.uk·Feb 9, 2026·archived copy
- ppe.nbcnews.com
- Report: ICE Has Detained Over 500 Babies and Toddlers Since Trump’s Return — Pediatric Experts Say ‘Our Immigration System Is Breaking Children’
crbcnews.com·Jun 12, 2026·archived copy
- themirror.com
- Children are being kept in immigration custody longer than allowed, advocates say
WHIO·Feb 16, 2026·archived copy
- Toddler returned to ICE detention after intensive care, was denied prescribed medication
- Lawsuit Alleges 18-Month-Old Toddler, Returned to ICE Detention After Severe Illness, Denied Prescribed Medications
- ICE has detained over 500 babies and toddlers under Trump
ms.now·Jun 9, 2026·archived copy
- kravi.org
- aol.com
- After Detention, Families Stranded in Border Town Face Harrowing Journey Home
themarshallproject.org·Mar 2, 2026·archived copy
- The harrowing journey home for families leaving immigration detention
peoplesworld.org·Mar 9, 2026·archived copy
More incidents in Texas
- Texas pastor deported to Ghana, a country he has never visitedOct 6, 2026 · Mesquite, TX
- ICE arrests in Austin area surge over 300% since start of Trump's second termOct 6, 2026 · Austin, TX
- ICE agent shoots Venezuelan DoorDash driver in back, leaves him partially paralyzedOct 4, 2026 · Austin, TX
- Bodycam footage contradicts ICE account of US citizen's fatal shooting in TexasOct 4, 2026 · South Padre Island, TX
- Hundreds march in San Antonio as officials weigh lawsuit against ICE detention facilityOct 3, 2026 · San Antonio, TX
- Judge expands border wall halt across Big Bend region of TexasOct 2, 2026 · El Paso, TX