City of Camarillo
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Wednesday, February 11, 2026 01:44 PMPUBLIC COMMENTS
NOTICE
This is a public document and will be posted as part of the public record. Any attachments, pictures, and information submitted will be subject to disclosure in accordance with applicable law, including the Public Records Act.
City Council / Camarillo Sanitary
District / Camarillo Library Board
Meeting Date
Wednesday, February 11, 2026
Planning Commission Meeting Date
Agency City Council / Camarillo Sanitary District / Camarillo Library Board
Item Type Item Not On Agenda
Item Number or Subject Public Comment
Position Not Applicable
Comments Members of the City Council,
I am submitting this comment because the story of more than 3,800 children currently detained by ICE in the United States demands your attention — including a story of a two-month-old baby and children held far longer than federal guidelines allow. 
I have included a link to the ProPublica article published a few days ago. Every member of this Council should take the time to read this article and read the children’s stories for yourselves:
📎 “I Have Been Here Too Long”: Read Letters from the Children Detained at ICE’s Dilley Facility” (ProPublica) —
https://www.propublica.org/article/ice-dilley-children-letters These are actual letters and drawings written by children while detained in the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas. 1 
Here are a few excerpts that should make every one of us uncomfortable:
• A 9-year-old girl named Susej wrote:
“I miss my school and my friends… I have been here too long.” 
• A 14-year-old, Ariana, wrote:
“Since I got to this center all you will feel is sadness and mostly depression… All kids are being damaged mentally.” 
• A 7-year-old, Mia, said:
“I don’t want to be in this place. I want to go to my school; I miss my grandparents, my friends.” 
• A 12-year-old, Ender, described the conditions:
“They told me I could only be here 21 days but I have already spent more than 60 days… going to the doctor and the only thing they tell you is to drink more water…” 
• And 9-year-old Maria Antonia wrote:
“Me in Dilley am not happy please get me out of here to Colombia… I came on vacation for 10 days and they took me into an ICE office… now I am in a jail and I am sad…”  These are not political talking points. They are children describing what is happening to them in their own voices — fear, sadness, boredom, sickness, and pain.
The article also shows that many children are being held far longer than the generally recognized legal limit of about 20 days, even though federal settlement agreements are supposed to protect minors from prolonged detention. 
And yet, while these children’s rights to due process, education, safety, and humane treatment are in question, this Council has said nothing.
I ask you to consider:
• If this were happening to your own children or
grandchildren, how would you feel?
• If you read these children’s words, could you stand by without response?
• What does it mean for our community to ignore the
suffering of children who are being detained far from home, often without proper legal access?
This Council can choose empathy. You can speak out. You can issue a statement condemning the detention of children and calling for humane, lawful treatment. Even a small public expression of concern would show that compassion matters — not just within our city limits, but in the policies we are willing to challenge and the harms we are willing to acknowledge.
I urge you to read the ProPublica article linked above. Read the children’s own words. And then ask yourselves: is this the kind of suffering we are willing to accept in our name?
2 Thank you.
Upload Additional Information
3 IDENTIFICATION
Name Blanca
Address
Telephone
Email [email protected]
Public Records Acknowledgement
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