A planned Walt Disney World Resort vacation turned into a 113-day detention for nine-year-old Maria Antonia Guerra Montoya after ICE intercepted her travel and “used” her to detain her mother.
ProPublica published the child’s handwritten letter on February 9 as part of a collection of documents from children held at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas. The letters were collected throughout January 2026. Hundreds of children remain at the facility.
Letter Details Two-Hour Interrogation Without Parent
Maria’s letter, written in Spanish and accompanied by drawings of herself with another detained child, sad faces, and broken hearts, describes her experience:
I am Maria Antonia Guerra Montoya and I have been 113 days in detention I miss my friends and I feel they are going to forget me. I am bored here. I already miss my country and my house, I came on vacation for 10 Days and they took me into an ice office an officer interrogated me 2 hours without my mom, I was traveling with flight attendant because my mom lives in new york, they only wanted to arrest my mom, because my mom didn’t have documents to live in U.S.A., I always traveled with my tourist visa but ice used me to catch my mom and now I am in a jail and I am sad and I have fainted 2 times here inside. When I arrived every night I cried and now I don’t sleep well, I felt that being here was my fault and I only wanted to be on vacation like a normal family.
They don’t give me my diet I am vegetarian, I don’t eat well, there is no good education and I miss my best friend julieta and my grandmother and my school I already want to get to my house.
Me in dilei [Dilley] am not happy please get me out of here to colombia
@ProPublica highlighted the child’s writings on X (formerly known as Twitter):
6/ ‘When I arrived every night I cried and now I don’t sleep well, I felt that being here was my fault and I only wanted to be on vacation like a normal family.’ 9-year-old Maria Antonia Guerra Montoya, detained on her way to Disney World, spent 113+ days at Dilley.
6/ “When I arrived every night I cried and now I don’t sleep well, I felt that being here was my fault and I only wanted to be on vacation like a normal family.”
9-year-old Maria Antonia Guerra Montoya, detained on her way to Disney World, spent 113+ days at Dilley. pic.twitter.com/ajnCopTnxY
— ProPublica (@propublica) February 9, 2026
DHS Defends Facility Conditions
The Department of Homeland Security disputed complaints about conditions at Dilley, stating no detainees were denied medical care. Officials said children receive access to “teachers, classrooms, and curriculum booklets for math, reading, and spelling,” and claimed medical and other staff meet “the highest standard of care.”
ICE Opens Detention Center Near Disney World
Maria’s detention occurred weeks before DHS opened a new ICE facility near Walt Disney World Resort. Local communities protested the construction, but lawmakers could not stop the project. The facility has the capacity to hold hundreds of detainees.
Should Walt Disney World Resort make a statement about ICE activity? Share your thoughts with Disney Dining in the comments.
