On Saturday, numerous immigrant families gathered in protest outside a Texas detention facility, voicing their concerns for a 5-year-old Ecuadorian boy and his father, who were detained earlier this week in Minnesota.
Aerial footage captured by the Associated Press highlighted families at the South Texas Family Residential Center, dressed in warm clothing and holding signs that read “Libertad para los niños,” which translates to “Liberty for the kids.” The air was filled with chants of “Libertad!” or “Let us go,” as reported by Eric Lee, an immigration attorney visiting a client at the facility located in Dilley, south of San Antonio.
Maria Alejandra Montoya Sanchez, 31, expressed her sentiments during a phone interview from the facility, stating, “The message we want to send is for them to treat us with dignity and according to the law. We’re immigrants, with children, not criminals.” She and her 9-year-old daughter have been detained at Dilley since October.
Officials from the Department of Homeland Security have not yet commented on the ongoing situation. On the same day, federal authorities hastily evacuated visitors from the facility, according to attorney Eric Lee, who was present for a scheduled meeting with clients.
Lee recounted that shortly after being asked to leave, he received a call from a client inside the detention center, who mentioned that detainees had started protesting the detention of young Liam Conejo Ramos and the treatment of protesters across the nation. “When I was in the waiting room, waiting to meet [clients], I heard guards come out and say, ‘Everybody out right now,’” Lee stated, noting their visibly anxious demeanor.
Liam and his father were taken to the facility after being detained outside their home in Minnesota on Tuesday, prompting a widespread outcry. Family and neighbors claimed that federal agents used the boy as leverage to compel his mother to open the door, a claim that government officials have dismissed as false.
Earlier that day, a federal immigration officer shot and killed a man in Minneapolis, a city that has become a focal point of rising tensions regarding the Trump administration’s stringent immigration policies. This incident follows another shooting incident involving an immigration officer just weeks prior, which resulted in the death of 37-year-old Renee Good and triggered nationwide protests, including demonstrations in Texas.
As he exited the facility, Lee heard children chanting “libertad.” He shared a video on social media that appeared to show individuals inside the center shouting, only for someone associated with the facility to instruct him to stop recording. “According to what I heard, they view this as part of this broader protest, and they’re appealing for help, and they’re appealing to the country and the world’s population to come to their support and free them all from this place,” Lee remarked.
The South Texas Family Residential Center, established in 2014, is currently the only family detention center in the United States. It closed in 2024 after President Joe Biden ended the practice of detaining families, but reopened following President Donald Trump’s return to office last year. The facility has faced criticism for unsafe conditions, with attorneys representing clients there reporting issues such as contaminated water and delays in medical care.
Neha Desai, managing director at the National Center for Youth Law, stated, “The current conditions at Dilley are fundamentally unsafe for anyone, let alone young children.” Since the facility’s reopening, numerous families—including infants and toddlers—have reportedly experienced substandard medical care and harsh treatment, along with prolonged detention times.
The Trump administration attempted to revoke protections for children in detention established under the Flores Settlement Agreement. This 1997 agreement mandates the humane treatment of children and emphasizes the importance of their timely release.
The Flores agreement gained renewed attention during the first Trump administration, particularly with the implementation of a zero-tolerance policy that led to the separation of families crossing the border illegally. This policy, which resulted in widespread public backlash, played a significant role in Trump’s electoral success.
As Trump continued to push for aggressive mass deportations, Texas emerged as a key ally in these efforts. In 2025, officers from the Texas Department of Public Safety assisted in the arrest of over 3,000 undocumented immigrants statewide. Additionally, sheriffs across Texas have entered into agreements with ICE, and a new state law mandates all counties to participate in such agreements.
From Trump’s second inauguration up until July 2025, one in four ICE arrests occurred in Texas, which also holds the highest number of immigration detention facilities in the country. Over the past two months, ICE reported four fatalities within their facilities, including that of a 55-year-old Cuban detainee whose death was ruled a homicide by the El Paso Medical Examiner’s office.
