Dilley, Texas – Oregon Congresswoman Maxine Dexter is continuing efforts to secure the release of a Gresham family detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after being denied access to the South Texas Family Residential Facility on . Dexter plans to return to the facility on with purchased tickets for the family, Yohendry De Jesus Crespo, Darianny Liseth Gonzalez De Crespo and their seven-year-old daughter, Diana Crespo, to return to Oregon.
The Crespo-Gonzalez family was apprehended in Portland, Oregon, on while seeking medical care for Diana, who was experiencing a persistent nosebleed. Their detention marks a rare instance of an entire family being detained by immigration officials within Oregon, according to the Portland Immigrants Rights Coalition.
Dexter’s initial attempt to visit the family on was blocked despite providing seven days’ notice, as required by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rules. According to Dexter, she was informed that the denial wasn’t related to recent measles cases reported at the facility, despite being prepared to demonstrate vaccination status and accept responsibility for any associated risks. She has yet to receive a formal explanation for the denial, leading her to believe authorities are attempting to conceal the conditions within the detention center.
“There’s no legal reason for them to be in custody and they’re my constituents and I’d like to take them home,” Dexter told OPB. She maintains that the family’s detention is unjustified and is determined to bring them back to Oregon.
The case has drawn scrutiny to the Biden administration’s immigration policies, particularly regarding asylum seekers. DHS stated that the parents, Yohendry De Jesus Crespo and Darianny Liseth Gonzalez De Crespo, “illegally entered U.S. With their daughter in 2024 through the disastrous CBP One app and were RELEASED into the country” and that an asylum application does not preclude immigration enforcement. The CBP One app was previously cancelled by the Trump administration, a decision currently being challenged in court.
Legal experts note that asylum seekers can be detained while their cases are processed, but the length of detention is increasingly coming under legal challenge. The Crespo-Gonzalez family will reach their 21st day in detention on , potentially violating the Flores Settlement of 1997, which outlines standards for the detention of children and generally limits detention to 20 days. Federal courts have repeatedly upheld the Flores Settlement against attempts to dismantle it, most recently in .
A recent analysis by The Marshall Project found that over 1,300 children were held in immigration detention for more than 20 days in .
The family’s case is being handled by Innovation Law Lab, who confirmed the family applied for asylum through the CBP One app and filed their application in a timely manner. Isa Peña, director of strategy at Innovation Law Lab, expressed gratitude for the support from Oregon’s elected officials and stated they are “working hard with a team of people to ensure their release as quickly as possible.”
Dexter’s efforts echo those of U.S. Representative Joaquin Castro, who in escorted a five-year-old boy and his father home from the same Dilley facility after a judge ordered their release. That release followed a critical ruling against the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement tactics.
While no such court order has been issued in the Crespo-Gonzalez case, Dexter remains resolute. “We should absolutely push back with everything we can because this family has had every right taken from them and we have to make this right,” she stated. She also emphasized her legal obligation as a member of Congress to conduct oversight of immigration detention facilities.
The situation highlights the ongoing debate surrounding immigration detention, particularly concerning families and vulnerable individuals seeking asylum. The family’s wellbeing is also a concern, with reports indicating Diana contracted a fever and is only consuming bread with mayonnaise while in detention. DHS has not responded to multiple inquiries regarding the family’s case or the handling of the measles outbreak at the facility.
Dexter expressed a broader concern for the treatment of migrants in detention, stating, “If children being imprisoned without access to clean drinking water, good food, places to sleep and play and education — if that’s not enough to make us all outraged, I think we’ve completely lost our way as a society.”
