Texas state police used pepper balls Wednesday to push back protesters outside a federal immigration detention center in South Texas, as Democratic lawmakers attempted to inspect the facility and meet with families detained there under the Trump administration’s expanded immigration enforcement.
The confrontation took place outside the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley — about 75 miles southwest of San Antonio — where demonstrators gathered to protest the detention of immigrant families, including a 5-year-old boy and his father who were transferred to Texas after being detained earlier this month in Minnesota.
Protesters had moved closer to the site’s perimeter before officers ordered the crowd to back away and deployed pepper balls, according to video and eyewitness accounts. Footage captured by MySA shows a chemical agent canister landing near protesters as chants echoed outside the facility.
The protest coincided with a visit by U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, a San Antonio Democrat, who met with the child, Liam Conejo Ramos, and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, inside the facility. Castro later said he pressed federal officials for their release and raised concerns about the detention of young children.
Texas state troopers wearing riot gear arrive to help disperse protesters gathered outside the South Texas Family Residential Center detention facility where Liam Ramos and his father are being detained in Dilley, Texas, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) (Eric Gay/AP)
U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a Dallas Democrat and U.S. Senate candidate, also planned to visit the facility.
The Texas Department of Public Safety told the American-Statesman it responded to the protest at the request of the City of Dilley and emphasized its responsibility to protect public safety and state property. DPS said it coordinated with local, state and federal law enforcement partners while also protecting the constitutional rights of demonstrators.
According to DPS, after dispersal orders were issued, about 150 protesters refused to leave, attempted to breach an established protest barrier and spit on officers. The agency said troopers then used less-lethal measures, including pepper balls and projectiles, to “ensure officer safety and maintain order.”
DPS said two people were arrested on charges that included resisting arrest and interfering with public duties.
“Texas is a law-and-order state,” Sheridan Nolen, the Press Secretary for DPS said. “And the department has zero tolerance for individuals who disrupt public order or endanger law enforcement officers. Our men and women stand ready to enforce the law and assist our law enforcement partners in whatever capacity necessary.”
A protester reacts to the effects of pepper spray launched by Texas troopers to disperse protesters outside the South Texas Family Residential Center detention facility where Liam Ramos and his father are being detained in Dilley, Texas, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) (Eric Gay/AP)
A federal judge earlier this week temporarily barred immigration authorities from removing Ramos and his father from the United States while their detention is being challenged in court.
Castro, Crockett and other Texas Democrats have also accused U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem of overseeing aggressive enforcement tactics while shielding detention facilities from oversight, and have called for Noem’s impeachment.
The Dilley protest is the latest in a growing string of demonstrations across South and Central Texas targeting ICE and federal immigration enforcement, following weeks of rallies in Austin, San Marcos and surrounding communities. Activists have repeatedly gathered outside City Hall, courthouses and federal buildings, calling on local officials to limit cooperation with immigration authorities and warning that aggressive enforcement has pushed immigrant families further into fear and isolation.
Protesters gather outside the South Texas Family Residential Center detention facility where Liam Ramos and his father are being detained in Dilley, Texas, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) (Eric Gay/AP)
Organizers say the protests reflect mounting frustration with state laws that mandate cooperation with ICE, even as local leaders argue their hands are tied.