{"id":141981,"date":"2026-01-29T01:29:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T01:29:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/141981\/"},"modified":"2026-01-29T01:29:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T01:29:15","slug":"texas-activists-heading-to-dilley-detention-center-to-protest-trump-immigration-crackdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/141981\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas activists heading to Dilley detention center to protest Trump immigration crackdown"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"An organizer from Houston greets activists in San Antonio before their departure Wednesday morning to an immigrant detention site in Dilley. Credit: Michael Karlis<\/p>\n

A caravan of more than 30 activists departed San Antonio Wednesday morning for an immigrant detention center in Dilley to demand the release of 5-year-old Ecuadorian boy Liam Conejo Ramos<\/a>, who was detained in the Trump administration\u2019s Minneapolis crackdown. <\/p>\n

Some group members are carpooling to Dilley, located roughly an hour southwest of the Alamo City, while others boarded a bus carrying activists from Houston. A separate bus ferrying people from Dallas is also en route to the small South Texas town, organizer said. <\/p>\n

The activists plan to meet up with others from across the state. The groups will jointly march to the South Texas Family Residential Center detention site, where Democratic U.S. Reps. Joaquin Castro of San Antonio and Jasmine Crockett of Dallas are due to inspect conditions at the facility. <\/p>\n

The members of Congress are also expected to meet with Ramos and his father, who were picked up in Minneapolis by masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents last week, sparking a national outcry<\/a>. Witnesses accused ICE agents of using the child as \u201cbait\u201d to get his parents to open their door and face arrest.<\/p>\n

On Monday, a federal judge in San Antonio temporarily blocked<\/a> the deportation of the father and son while legal challenges to the feds\u2019 case play out.<\/p>\n

\"\"Activists make signs before departing San Antonio for Dilley on Wednesday morning. Credit: Michael Karlis<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople who are on the edges of society, they\u2019re always the ones that are victimized, and we\u2019re horrified,\u201d caravan organizer Rebecca Flores said of Ramos\u2019 detainment and the recent events in Minneapolis. \u201cI\u2019m personally horrified, not only for Liam but for the hundreds of children [in the South Texas Residential Center.]<\/p>\n

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Connecticut, who was denied entry to the Dilley detention center last week, estimates that there are around 400 children in custody there.<\/p>\n

Conditions inside the site \u2014\u00a0the only family detention center operating in the U.S. \u2014\u00a0have also grabbed national headlines since it reopened under the second Trump administration.<\/p>\n

\"\"Activists await for the arrival of a bus to ferry them to Dilley to protest. Credit: Michael Karlis<\/p>\n

Court testimony filed by immigrant advocacy group RAICES in July reported that Dilley detainees face a lack of medical care, clean drinking water and adequate food, as reported by the Current<\/a>. One detainee quoted in the legal filings said her 9-month-old son lost more than 9 pounds during the first month the family was held there.<\/p>\n

Families incarcerated at Dilley also staged a boisterous protest over the weekend to draw attention to conditions there and demand Ramos\u2019 release. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe racism in this country \u2014 it\u2019s just horrible how we separate ourselves and put people in a box,\u201d said activist Pamela Osborne, who joined the Caravan to Dilley this morning. \u201cI\u2019m not separate from anybody else.<\/p>\n

After their tour of the detention site, Castro and Crockett will travel back to San Antonio and join up with other Democratic lawmakers for a 4 p.m. press conference. A community rally against ICE<\/a> at Progresso Hall, 1306 Guadalupe St. will follow at 6:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

Subscribe to SA Current newsletters.<\/a><\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\tFollowing the slaying of Minneapolis ICU nurse Alex Pretti, Abbott says ICE must \u2018recalibrate\u2019 its mission and stop \u2018causing all the kinds of problems and fighting in communities.\u2019\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\tThe rally will follow the Democratic congressman\u2019s visit to the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, where 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos is being held. \t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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