California mom sends $10,000 per day to feed children and parents in ICE detention: ‘I got to humanize these families’

Revkin told The Washington Post that she tries to get to know detainees.

“I ask them what their favorite movie is, what music they like or what sports team they follow,” she said. “I got to humanize these families.”

Dilley first opened in 2014 under the Obama administration and was later shuttered during the Biden administration. It opened up again during spring 2025 under the Trump administration as crackdowns by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) intensified.

When Revkin learned the detention center had reopened, she knew she had to do something. Dilley has long had a reputation of unsanitary conditions and inedible food; there have been reports of cockroaches and worms in the food, as well as children vomiting after drinking the tap water.

Through her nonprofit, Each Step Home, Revkin is sending more than $10,000 a week to families at Dilley so they can buy food and essentials at the commissary. Donations come from people who’ve learned about her campaign online.

“She’s a fairy godmother,” Kristin Etter, an attorney with the Texas Immigration Law Council, told The Washington Post. “People literally could not survive in Dilley without her.”

A growing issue

Some detainees don’t survive. In 2025, 32 people died in ICE custody — the agency’s deadliest year in more than two decades, according to data compiled by The Guardian.

“This is a result of the deteriorating conditions inside of ICE detention,” Setareh Ghandehari, advocacy director at Detention Watch Network, told The Guardian. For years, the non-profit has been tracking deaths in immigration detention centers.

Inadequate food, unsanitary conditions and poor medical care have been reported at detention facilities, particularly as they become increasingly crowded.

As of Feb. 2, there were 70,766 people in detention, according to the Detention Watch Network.

The Dilley detention centre is run by CoreCivic, a private, for-profit company. Spokesman Ryan Gustin told The Washington Post that the facility’s water is clean and filtered, and that “nutritious” meals are inspected for quality and freshness.

But for many detainees, according to multiple reports, that isn’t the case — and the only way they can get their kids to eat is if they buy food from the commissary, like instant noodles or chocolate bars.

That’s where Dilley’s nonprofit is helping. Detention facilities like Dilley use third-party payment platforms that allow you to deposit funds into an account for a specific detainee. That money can then be used in the commissary to buy food, snacks and essentials, like toothbrushes or medicine.

However, detention centers have been accused of marking up prices, making it more expensive for detainees to afford basic necessities. Revkin shared receipts with The Washington Post that showed a bowl of instant noodles was double the price of the same product at a Texas grocery store.

The Washington Post previously reported that in two California ICE detention centers, a box of tampons was selling for more than $20 (a 33% markup) while a tin of instant coffee that cost $9.42 at Walmart was selling for $18.80 in the commissary.

Two of ICE’s biggest private prison contractors — which build and manage detention centers — posted record revenue in 2025. CoreCivic reported $2.2 billion in revenue for 2025 (up 13% from 2024), while GEO Group reported $2.6 billion in revenue.

With $45 billion in funding to expand immigration detention over the next four years, ICE will continue to expand its sprawling detention network by acquiring and retrofitting warehouses and expanding contracts with local prison facilities.

How to choose a charity

If, like Revkin, you want to help children and families detained in immigration detention centers, there are plenty of ways you can make a difference.

Donations to nonprofits and other local charitable groups can help detainees by providing commissary funds for food and medicine, legal support and representation, as well as post-release support (including food, clothing, shelter and travel coordination).

There are dozens upon dozens of nonprofits, charities and advocacy groups to choose from. But, with a rise in charity fraud, you’ll want to ensure your donation is going where it’s supposed to do.