Outside Karnes County Detention Center
On Aug. 26, 2025, Sandy and Stacey visited two women detained at Karnes County Detention Center. Detainees are allowed only one 60-minute visit per week. Since they were visiting two people, the visits were limited to 30 minutes each. The visitations take place in a room with two visitation officers and about 10 small, numbered tables.
The first visit was with a woman who had been detained at Karnes since May. She was looking forward to seeing her children (as visitors) within the next couple of weeks. Not surprisingly, she said the food was bad and that there were no fruits offered unless they were prescribed by the ‘medic.’ They were given only two bottles of water per day. Drinking water from the faucet (whether for detainees or staff), was not done because the bleach used was so strong.
Late into the visit, the visitation officer came over and abruptly told the woman to go back to her dormitory to pick up her things. She asked where she was going. Sandy and Stacey asked if she was being transferred or deported. The visitation office answered all questions by saying that he didn’t know where she was going or what her situation was. This woman without much control over many things in her detained life stood, smiled calmly at us, and said ‘asi es.’
The second visit was with a woman who has been in detention for about a week. Sandy and Stacey were her first visitors. The woman was more reserved about talking with strangers. She said she didn’t have much hope of staying in the US, but her attitude was strong and centered. She was prepared for either outcome. If she is able to stay and continue her asylum petition, that was good. If she is deported to her home country, that was good because her children are still there.
As Sandy and Stacey left, they again asked the staff about whether the first woman was deported or transferred. The staff said they can confirm that she’s gone from the facility – but not where she is.
Before Sandy and Stacey went to their car, they put money into the phone and commissary accounts of the second woman so that she could make calls or buy extra water and food.
Note: The first woman who Sandy and Stacey spoke to was deported that evening back to Venezuela. In the face of outcomes like this, many may wonder – what’s the point of this work? Pastor Diana Garcia explains her answer in an essay titled, “Why Do We Visit?”
