In August 2025 a family from Colombia set out for a ten‑day Disney World vacation, only to find themselves in a U.S. Immigration detention center for more than three months. The story, detailed in a recent ProPublica investigation, follows nine‑year‑old Maria Antonia Guerra Montoya and her mother, Maria Alejandra Montoya, as their planned “Disneylandia” turned into “Dilleylandia,” the nickname they gave the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas.
The ProPublica report, based on interviews with dozens of parents and children held at the nation’s only operating family detention facility, includes a heartfelt letter from Maria Antonia. Written on notebook paper, the letter is adorned with rainbows, hearts and a drawing of the mother‑daughter duo in their gray sweatsuits and government‑issued ID badges. The letter underscores the child’s distress: “They don’t provide me my diet I am vegetarian, I don’t eat well… I miss my best friend Julieta, my grandmother and my school. I am not happy, please get me out of here to Colombia.” ProPublica
From Disney Magic to Detention
Maria Antonia lived in Colombia with her grandmother and traveled frequently to the United States to visit her mother, who has been residing in the country since 2018. Maria Alejandra overstayed a tourist visa, later married a U.S. Citizen and was applying for a green card. After a successful August 2025 Disney World trip, the family booked a second ten‑day vacation to attend the park’s annual Halloween celebration. The young girl excitedly planned a “101 Dalmatians” costume, envisioning herself as Cruella de Vil while her mother and step‑dad would be the spotted dogs—a bulky ensemble that filled an entire suitcase.
On October 2, 2025, the family arrived at Miami International Airport. Immigration officers intercepted Maria Antonia and her mother, separating them for hours of questioning. The child recalled being taken to a small room while her mother’s phone was confiscated, leaving the step‑dad waiting outside without any way to contact them. After roughly 42 hours in airport holding areas, the pair were placed on a plane and then a minivan bound for the Dilley facility, just south of San Antonio. ProPublica
Life Inside Dilley
When the reporter visited the center in mid‑January, more than 3,500 people—about half of them minors—had cycled through the facility since the Trump administration reopened it early in 2024. ProPublica The Dilley Immigration Processing Center, operated by CoreCivic, is the only remaining family detention center in the United States.
By the time the journalist met Maria Antonia and her mother, the duo had been detained for nearly four months (approximately 113 days, according to a NewsBreak transcript). The child recounted fainting twice, surviving on beans as a vegetarian, and having “nothing to do all day.” She described forming friendships that were short‑lived, as fellow detainees were regularly released or deported.
Maria Alejandra’s emails painted a grim picture of her daughter’s mental health: Maria Antonia would wake up in the middle of the night crying, terrified of never leaving detention or being separated from her mother. ProPublica
Official Responses
In response to the family’s claims, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a statement. They confirmed that Maria Alejandra had overstayed her tourist visa and that a prior theft charge against her had been dismissed in court. DHS said Maria Antonia had been examined by medical professionals twice and received weekly mental‑health check‑ins, during which she reported feeling “calm and well‑nourished.” The agency likewise asserted that detainees receive three meals a day, clean water, clothing, bedding, showers, soap and toiletries, with certified dietitians evaluating meals. Children are provided access to teachers, classrooms and curriculum booklets for math, reading and spelling. ProPublica
CoreCivic, the private contractor that runs Dilley, emphasized that the facility is subject to multiple layers of oversight and that health and safety are top priorities. ProPublica
Release and Return Home
An immigration judge granted the family “voluntary departure” on January 6, 2026, allowing them to pay their own way back to Colombia, avoid a formal deportation order and continue the green‑card application from abroad. The family was not released until February 6, 2026. ProPublica
Upon returning to Colombia, Maria Antonia immediately discarded the government‑issued sweatsuit she had worn for months. A video later shared by the family shows the nine‑year‑old in pink leggings and a teddy‑bear T‑shirt, running to embrace her teachers and classmates at school. “Look who I brought you!” a teacher exclaims as the child is welcomed back into the classroom. ProPublica
What’s Next?
The Dilley case highlights ongoing concerns about family detention in the United States, especially the impact on children’s physical and mental health. Advocacy groups continue to call for greater transparency and reform of immigration detention policies. As the family rebuilds their lives in Colombia, the broader debate over the role of private‑run detention centers and the treatment of migrant families remains a pressing issue for policymakers and the public alike.
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