Mom of 5 in immigration detention in Texas was taken to ER, sparking urgent calls for her release

ImmigrationMom of 5 in immigration detention in Texas was taken to ER, sparking urgent calls for her releaseA court filing says authorities at a detention center in Dilley, Texas, refused for weeks to get Hayman El Gamal a CT scan after she found an abnormal growth in her chest.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00The Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Dilley, Texas, on March 1.Laura Brett / Sipa USA via Reuters ConnectShareAdd NBC News to GoogleApril 15, 2026, 9:30 PM EDTBy Suzanne Gamboa and Mike HixenbaughA mother of five held at an ICE detention center in Texas was taken to the emergency room in “excruciating” pain, weeks after she was refused a CT scan by center officials for a lump in her chest, according to her attorney.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.The woman, Hayman El Gamal, has been pleading for medical attention for the abnormal growth, which has caused severe pain, since Feb. 17, according to a court document filed Wednesday by her attorney, Eric Lee.Lee says in the document, filed in federal court in the Western District of Texas, that El Gamal was initially denied a CT scan recommended by a doctor at the Dilley Detention Center. A subsequent CT scan conducted when she was taken to the ER found she has fluid around her heart, or pericardial effusion. The emergency room doctor recommended an ultrasound, but DHS, ICE and CoreCivic, which manages Dilley, denied the request, the court filings say.CoreCivic said in a statement that it couldn’t comment specifically on El Gamal’s case because of ongoing litigation and medical privacy issues. DHS and ICE didn’t respond to requests for comment on El Gamal’s case and the children’s detention. DHS has previously called allegations about poor care “mainstream media lies” and said parents and children are “housed in facilities that provide for their safety, security and medical needs.” The agency also has previously said the fa...