Broken Heart of Texas

Her name is Hayam El Gamal. She is the mother of five children and one young adult, ages 5 to 18, from Colorado. They have been detained for over 10 months in the immigration processing center in the South Texas town of Dilley.

El Gamal has been experiencing severe stomach pain and a potentially cancerous lump in her chest. The guards have given her only ibuprofen and have denied her any urgent care. The conditions reported at Dilley include moldy and worm-filled food, water that hurts your stomach to drink and has a chemical odor, lights that stay on all night, and reported threats of longer detainment to those who complain.

Built on 55 acres, the Dilley Immigration Processing Center was closed in 2021 under the Biden administration, then reopened in 2025 by Donald Trump.

El Gamal, at just 42 years old, is now forced to consider what will happen if her kids become orphans. In contrast, a large percentage of American citizens I’ve spoken with recently not only seem unconcerned but also misinformed or even complacent.

A common misconception of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is that it is a recent development in our federal government. The truth is that it was formed in 2003 and has been operating with varying degrees of inhumane practices ever since, throughout four different administrations. However, from Donald Trump’s second inauguration through 2025, there was a 6% increase in the detainment of children, with a record number of 6,200 boys and girls kidnapped by ICE and separated from their communities. 

As a concerned citizen, musician, and most recently as a photographer/photojournalist in activist circles, I have been watching Dilley for months now. In late January, I saw the viral video of the immigration lawyer Eric Lee walking outside of the Dilley center. As he is filming, you can hear a large group of children screaming to be let out and set free.

Also in January 2026, another Dilley-related case went viral. A 5-year-old boy from Minnesota was intercepted by ICE agents while walking home from school. A photo of Liam Ramos wearing his backpack and a blue bunny hat sparked a huge public response. He and his father, who were both following all the protocols of asylum here, were sent to Dilley.

This public outrage created a new resistance group in Texas. The Blue Bunny Brigade is a group of mothers and community organizers whose goal is to help families who may not have anyone else fighting for them, just like Liam and his father.

Together with Mother Forward, another grassroots group of mothers fighting for marginalized communities, the Blue Bunny Brigade scheduled a protest outside of Dilley this past weekend.

I spread the word about Unify to Dilley, grabbed my camera, and traveled south of San Antonio to join in and document the event. Hundreds of people came from all over Texas and even out of state to make their voices heard for the children. The demands were simple: Release the detained children and families and close the immigration camp by Mother’s Day.

I was able to work closely with several of the groups involved, including Singing Resistance, Dissenting Voices, several media outlets, and a direct-action group called Flare. I performed a song I wrote for the El Gamal family entitled “When Will We Go Home?” based on a drawing by one of her children.

“What we saw was community in action,” said lead organizer Chriselda Vera, “regular people showing up for families they may never meet but refuse to abandon.”

Among the speakers at the protest was Gov. Greg Abbott’s opponent in the next Texas governor’s race. Democratic rising star Gina Hinojosa was well received, spoke on several issues, and criticized the Republican governor’s inhumane and corrupt policies. “Greg Abbott allows this to happen. He’s received tens of thousands of dollars from the private prison companies that now operate all of these detention centers.”

These for-profit centers make money off every person locked up while the taxpayers float the bill. The centers are prioritizing corporate interest companies like CoreCivic and The GEO Group and selling Texans out. CoreCivic, which took in more than $1 billion last year alone, is directly responsible for the bad food and water.

Abbott is also taking aim at several major Texas cities, including Austin, Houston, and Dallas, forcing their police to cooperate with federal ICE agents. In Austin specifically, the governor is threatening to pull $2.5 million in state public safety grants if the city pushes back. Also, it should be noted that ICE now has a goal of 1 million deportations a year.

Another well-received speaker that day was Ricky Longoria. This fellow Texan organizer/digital storyteller and creator said, “We keep showing up. We keep speaking out. We keep fighting, and we vote.”

Change can be very slow, but on Monday, April 20, I received a text from Lee, the lawyer representing the El Gamal family. As I’m writing this now, the family is being released after almost one year in Dilley. This is a win that will propel the movement for equality even further and close Dilley for good, hopefully by Mother’s Day. 

Best known for playing saxophone for international recording artists such as Leon Bridges and Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Fort Worth native Jeff Dazey has always taken photos during his extensive world touring. Over the past year, he has begun pursuing photojournalism with a specific concentration on social activism. You can see more of his photography @jeffdazey and @owlmedi4.

This column reflects the opinions of the editorial board and not the Fort Worth Weekly. To submit a column, please email Editor Anthony Mariani at Anthony@FWWeekly.com. He will gently edit it for clarity and concision.