Detaining women and children who have fled violence in their country and are seeking asylum may lead them to being scarred with psychological trauma, according to an immigrant rights group that complained to the Department of Homeland Security this week.

The group said that there were around 10 cases wherein attorneys had clients who attested to severe mental trauma, some of them being anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts. The complaint stated that the agency should investigate these cases and look beyond what was apparent.

A complete investigation was also requested into the effects that detention imposed on more than 6200 women and children by the immigrant rights group. One of the 4 facilities that opened last year due to hundreds and thousands of Central Americans crossing the Mexico border and spilling over into the state of Texas. ICE said that mental health problems had been identified but the issues were already existing previously and they were not related to detention. Many of the women and children in the complaint have been released since.

“This policy started so quickly last summer that no one has taken the time to investigate the psychological consequences, and that is a real failure…” an associate director of a Lawyers Association stated recently.