WE ARE NEIGHBORS
of faith and conviction
CALLING FOR AN END
to family detention
Follow us on Instagram
UPDATE 4/14/26: URGENT CONCERN
Statement from Eric Lee, lawyer for the El Gamal family:
Very sad to report that Hayam El Gamal, mother of 5 kids detained at Dilley for 10+ months, has suffered a serious medical emergency due to systematic denial of medical attention by ICE.
We can now share the following:
For many weeks Ms. El Gamal has been concerned about a growth on her chest that has caused pain for many weeks. She has made complaints to Dilley staff and ICE repeatedly but has been denied a visit to an outside doctor. She had specifically made requests for a CT scan to identify the lump and the source of her pain.
On Thursday April 8, a doctor at Dilley told her that he had put in a request for a CT scan but "higher ups" in either ICE or CoreCivic overrode his request, and so no scan was conducted. Medical records show she had been demanding help since February, at which time she said her pain had been already worsening for 8 weeks. A doctor at Dilley said the lump in her chest was merely a bone.
Mid-morning on Friday April 9, Ms. El Gamal began experiencing excruciating pain which she rated an 11 out of 10. She described the pain as being stabbed through the back to the stomach. At about 11 AM central time she began pleading with officials for painkillers and medical attention. After two hours of asking for help (at around 1 PM central time) she was taken to an off-site emergency room. While there she received lab work and, finally, a CT scan. The CT scan confirmed that the lump was not a bone, but it did not reveal what the lump was.
The scan also showed she has "fluid around the heart." The ER doctor recommended an ultrasound to determine what was causing the pain, but this was denied. Ms. El Gamal was told she had to go back to Dilley and was not given the ultrasound. We do not know if the lump is cancerous, all we know is that the pain is increasing, the incidents are becoming worse and worse, and she is not receiving proper diagnosis that could lead to proper treatment.
After 10 months in detention, Ms. El Gamal remains in pain. We are concerned that the systematic denial of medical attention may result in her death. Her children are extremely worried about their mother, who is now their only guardian. Her five year old child has been denied the right to go to a dentist for 13 cavities. Her 16 year old son was told to take tylenol when he suffered from acute appendicitis. All of the children are suffering from depression.
Please join us in demanding the El Gamal's immediate release so that she can acquire the urgent medical attention she desperately needs. This family has suffered enough.
Learn about and join us in our advocacy for our local Colorado Springs neighbor and friend, Hayam El Gamal and her 5 children, who have been held at Dilley family detention center since June 2025
WE ARE NEIGHBORS
in Colorado Springs who refuse to accept silence as a response to injustice. Instead, we choose to speak up and act.
Our faith in Jesus Christ compels us to care for the vulnerable and the foreigner—and to advocate for them when they are mistreated or harmed. The current practice of family detention in the United States is unnecessary, cruel, and un-American. A nation that values family, freedom, limited government, and human dignity should never accept the routine incarceration of children.
We are committed to nonviolence in both action and speech. We will speak truth, insist on accountability, and treat every person with dignity. We stand with immigrant families—our neighbors who contribute to our communities and are overwhelmingly not violent criminals, but parents and children seeking safety while attempting to follow the legal process.
We believe too much of the public narrative surrounding immigration has been shaped by fear rather than facts. Family detention does not solve our immigration challenges; it deepens trauma, destabilizes families, and erodes trust across entire communities.
For these reasons, we are calling on our government to end family detention.
LET’S WORK TOGETHER FOR CHANGE
Here’s how to get involved:
-
Advocate
If you live in Colorado Springs in U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank’s district, please fill out our form to add your name to the constituents calling for the release of Hayam El Gamal and her five children after nine months at the Dilley Detention Center in Texas, and for an end to family detention. Read our letter to Rep. Crank and complete the form below.
-
Activate
Stay up to date on upcoming events and other happenings by joining our mailing list.