Urgent: ICE Detains 2 Month Old Baby Who Has Failing Health

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Parnas Perspective – "Urgent: ICE Detains 2 Month Old Baby Who Has Failing Health"

Host: Aaron Parnas
Date: February 17, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this emotionally charged episode, Aaron Parnas shines a national spotlight on the urgent and heartbreaking case of Juan Nicolas, a two-month-old baby detained by ICE at the Dilley Detention Facility in Texas whose health has rapidly deteriorated. Using firsthand reporting, congressional action, and testimony from within detention centers, Aaron confronts the reality of child detention in America, the failures of the system, and the stark human consequences. He calls on listeners to amplify this story for the sake of awareness and action.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introducing Juan Nicolas – The Youngest ICE Detainee

[01:35 – 02:50]

• Aaron reveals that ICE is currently detaining Juan Nicolas, a two-month-old baby who has spent half of his life—over three weeks—inside a private prison (Dilley Detention Facility, Texas).
• Juan is suffering from severe, rapidly deteriorating respiratory issues within the facility.
• The Dilley facility has a history of declining child health cases (reference to prior detainee Liam Ramos).
• Aaron urges: "This may be one of the more important updates I’ve done in a while because it needs national attention." (01:45)

2. Describing the Rapid Medical Decline & Systemic Failures

[02:51 – 04:20]

• Reporting from The Migrant Insider highlights a critical night: as Juan struggled to breathe, "there was no physician on site at this hour. Nothing to be done."
• Vivid depiction of the mother’s distress and lack of care: “She screamed for help the way only a mother can scream. And what came back was a shrug. Dressed in official language.” (03:10)
• Aaron emphasizes that CoreCivic, the private prison operator, claims round-the-clock emergency care, but this was not reality when needed most.
• Stark comparison: "A doctor isn’t a press release. A doctor is someone who shows up." (03:55)

3. Breaking Update: Juan Nicolas Rushed to Hospital

[04:20 – 05:08]

• An anonymous source shares: “Juan Nicolas has been rushed to the hospital. …He was taken by ambulance. …All that I can ask is to please pray for this baby. He’s just two months old. …I really hope that later tonight or tomorrow, I have a positive update for you guys.” (04:25)

4. Congressional Intervention and the Reality Inside Dilley

[05:09 – 05:58]

• Congressman Joaquin Castro personally inspected the Dilley medical wing, finding no staff present: “Looked around, there was nobody there. Not a nurse, not an aide, not a clipboard with a pulse reading.” (05:15)
• It’s highlighted as deeply shocking that congressional pressure is needed "to get a two-month-old out of a cage," treating an infant’s release as a “legislative priority.” (05:30)
• Conditions described: constant illness risk, unsanitary formula preparation, cycling children through minimal medical care until an emergency arises.

5. Deterrence Versus Human Consequence

[06:00 – 07:00]

• Aaron deconstructs the government’s framing of migrant detention: "They will say these are complex policy questions…They will hide behind the word deterrence, the way people hide behind the word regrettable. But deterrence is an abstraction. Juan Nicolas is not." (06:33)
• Deeply personal reflection: “He has never seen a park. ...He knows his mother’s voice and he knows hunger. ...He knows, in whatever way a two-month-old registers such things, that he is sick.” (06:50)

6. Children’s Voices & the Suppression of Testimony

[07:01 – 08:30]

• Aaron reads harrowing letters written by children detained in Dilley, exposed by ProPublica, including:
  • Susie F., 9: “I feel bad since when I come here...I miss my family and my country.” (07:07)
  • Gabby M., 14: “The officers have bad manner of speaking to residents. ...The workers treat the residents unhumanely, verbally, and I don’t want to imagine how they would act if they were unsupervised. ...I get bored a lot and I don’t know what to do.” (07:31)
• New development: ICE staff at Dilley are now raiding dormitories to confiscate and destroy children’s letters. (08:30)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Aaron Parnas:

  • "A doctor isn’t a press release. A doctor is someone who shows up." (03:55)
  • "This is what it has come to in America. A United States Congressman has to push hard to get a two month old out of a cage." (05:29)
  • "Deterrence is an abstraction. Juan Nicolas is not. He is a boy who has been alive for two months." (06:36)
  • “Someone decided that a newborn asylum seeker was a detention problem, and not a human emergency.” (07:00)

• Juan Nicolas’s anonymous advocate:

  • “All that I can ask is to please pray for this baby.” (04:42)

• Congressman Joaquin Castro [paraphrased]:

  • "The clinic that CoreCivic advertises as evidence of its humane care sat empty in the middle of the afternoon like a diner that stopped serving food but kept the sign lit." (05:17)

• Child's letter (Gabby M., 14):

  • "The officers have bad manner speaking to residents. The workers treat the residents unhumanely, verbally, and I don't want to imagine how they would act if they were unsupervised." (07:34)

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Important Timestamps

• [01:35]: Introduction to the case of Juan Nicolas
• [03:10]: The mother's desperate plea for help met with indifference
• [04:20]: Juan Nicolas is rushed to the hospital
• [05:15]: Congressman Castro’s inspection of the Dilley facility’s empty medical clinic
• [06:33]: Aaron contrasts “deterrence” policy with human consequence
• [07:07, 07:31]: Reading and discussion of letters from detained children
• [08:30]: Revelation of ICE staff confiscating children's letters

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Tone & Takeaway

Aaron Parnas delivers the episode with urgency and raw emotion, combining journalistic rigor and moral clarity. He highlights the failings of immigration detention policy through the intimate lens of a sick newborn and extends the discussion to the broader ethical crisis of child detainment in America. The episode ends with a call for listeners to amplify Juan Nicolas’s story.

“It’s not complexity, it’s a choice. Someone made it.” (07:00)

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For more breaking legal and political news, follow and subscribe to The Parnas Perspective.

Transcript

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Currently detaining a two month old baby who has spent half his life inside of a detention facility, a private prison in southern Texas, and his health is rapidly deteriorating. This may be one of the more important updates I've done in a while because it needs national attention. So so please Like Comment Share subscribe Boost this everywhere you can because the story of Juan Nicolas is a story that every American needs to know about. And hopefully with the story that is spreading, ICE will release Juan from custody. Let's break it down right now. This is Juan. He is ISIS youngest detainee. He is two months old. He has spent half his life inside the walls of a private prison in Texas, the Dilly Detention Facility. Juan is currently suffering from serious deteriorating health conditions, rapidly deteriorating respiratory issues all inside the Dilley Detention Facility. The Dilly Detention Facility is the same facility where Liam Ramos was once held. The same facility where Liam Ramos health rapidly declined inside the facility. Let's talk about it. The Migrant Insider is now reporting that it was approaching midnight in Dilly, Texas where a two month old boy named Juan Nicolas required immediate Medical attention because he couldn't breathe. And the doctor wasn't there. His mother, a woman who had crossed whatever desert and river and checkpoint stood between her child and the life, screamed for help the way only a mother can scream. And what came back was a shrug. Dressed in official language. No physician on site at this hour. Nothing to be done. This is the United States of America. In 2026, Juan Nicolas turned two months old inside an ICE private prison. He has been alive for roughly 60 days. For more than three weeks of this 60 days, half his time on Earth, he has been the property of Corecivic, a private prison facility that bills the federal government for the privilege of jailing infants and which will tell you with a stray corporate face that emergency care is available around the clock. However, it wasn't available last night when this baby needed it. A doctor isn't a press release. A doctor is someone who shows up. And last night we got word from a local journalist in Texas that Juan Nicolas needed help and there was no one there to help him.

[E]

I just received a call from the Dilly Detention Center. Juan Nicolas has been rushed to the hospital. And I've been able to confirm this with family members of Juan Nicolas and his parents on the outside. It's unclear what happened for them to take him to the hospital. It is my understanding that he was taken by ambulance. So at some point the decision was made that he should be taken to a hospital immediately. At this time, I'm still working to gather more information. All that I can ask from everyone who's been keeping up with this case is to please pray for this baby. He's just two months old. He's been sick for about three weeks. And I really hope that later tonight or tomorrow, I have a positive update for you guys.

[D]

That'S real. He has real respiratory issues. Congressman Joaquin Castro walked into the Dilley medical wing earlier this year, looked around, there was nobody there. Not a nurse, not an aide, not a clipboard with a pulse reading the clinic that Core Civic advertises evidence of its humane care. Set empty in the middle of the afternoon like a diner that stopped serving food but kept the sign lit. Castro has been pushing ICE hard to release the baby and his mother. This is what it has come to in America. A United States Congressman has to push hard to get a two month old out of a cage. He has to go on Instagram live, he has to call local television. He has to treat the release of an infant as a legislative priority. Meanwhile, Juan Nicolas immune system still being assembled, still figuring out how the World Works has been fighting respiratory illness in a facility where measles recently walk through the door, where mothers report struggling to get clean water for formula, where sick children cycle through ibuprofen and basic antibiotics until they deteriorate badly enough that someone calls an ambulance. And that's what happened to Juan last night. Someone called an ambulance, as the migrant insider puts it. The people who built the system will tell you it is not a choice. They will say these are complex policy questions. They will say that if you release one family, a thousand more will follow. They will hide behind the word deterrence, the way people hide behind the word regrettable. But Deterrence is an abstraction. 9:1 Nicolas is not. He is a boy who has been alive for two months. He has never seen a park. He has never felt grass. He does not yet know what a dog looks like or what it feels like to sleep. That isn't a government contract. He knows his mother's voice and he knows hunger. And he knows, in whatever way a two month old registers such things, that he is sick and the people responsible for him were not there when he needed them at three in the morning. It's not complexity, it's a choice. Someone made it. Someone signed the contract with Corecivic, someone set the staffing level. Someone decided that a newborn asylum seeker was a detention problem and not a human emergency, put their name on it. That is all journalism ever asked. Now it comes as ProPublica has exposed letters heartbreaking letters written by children inside the same detention facility. Here is the first. Hello, my name is Susie F. And I am nine years old. I am from Venezuela. I have been 50 days in Dilley Immigration Processing center and I want to go back to my country. But I miss my school and my friends. I feel bad since when I come here to this place because I have been here too long. I have been two years and six months in the United States and I was happy with my friends in the school. But now I need to leave. I miss my family and my country. So now I want to go to Venezuela. But my mom does not, do not want to leave because she wants a better future for me. Hola. My name is Gabby M. I'm 14 years old. I've been detained in Dilley Immigration processing center for 20 days and I haven't been getting the right education due to being in here. I haven't been able to see my family and friends since I got here. I started to feel sad. Also I haven't felt happy since I got here. The officers have bad manner of speaking to residents when they are asking anything. The workers treat the residents unhumanely, verbally, and I don't want to imagine how they would act if they were unsupervised. I really want to go home. I don't care if I have to go to Katy or Columbia because in both places I have a home and school. I get bored a lot and I don't know what to do. I met friends here and they told me how they have been here for seven months and I get really surprised because I can't imagine how bad and sad and stressed being here. This is a real letter. Another one a drawing from inside the Dilley Detention facility. And guess what's happening today? Staff at the ICE concentration camp in Dilley, Texas have begun raiding the dormitories of kids and their parents to confiscate and destroy letters from children. Everyone needs to see this. Make sure to like, comment, share and subscribe. Spread the word. Updates coming soon hey folks, thanks so much for watching. Feel free to add this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you watch for the latest breaking news and daily hits throughout the day. Make sure to follow. Subscribe. See you soon for more.

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