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Caravans of protesters from across Texas are set to converge on the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley on Saturday, rallying against what organizers describe as inhumane conditions.
The facility, located in Dilley about 70 miles southwest of San Antonio and operated by a private contractor under U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, houses families seeking asylum and has long drawn criticism from immigrant rights advocates.
Hundreds of protesters are expected to arrive in Dilley at noon. Organizers say more than 300 men, women and children are currently being detained at the facility.
Groups from Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and the Rio Grande Valley are organizing travel to the site, including the Bexar County Democratic Party and League of United Latin American Citizens, along with other advocacy groups.
Cheryl Gonzales with Project Unidad, one of the organizers, said the protest is focused on conditions for children at the facility, including access to clean drinking water and medical care.
“What we want is to not only release the children, but to shut that center down," Gonzales told TPR.
Amy Hayes, a member of Singing Resistance Austin, said the effort is driven by parents.
“And we’re all moms. It’s a mom-based effort, and we saw this happening in our backyard and couldn’t stomach the idea of any child being in a detention center,” Hayes said.
A protest outside the facility in January turned tense when Texas Department of Public Safety troopers deployed chemical irritants to disperse demonstrators, and several people were arrested.
The facility drew national attention earlier this year after a 5-year-old child was detained there and later released following public pressure and calls from lawmakers, including U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro.
Castro, a San Antonio Democrat, recently said that since the departure of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, officials at the Dilley detention center have been operating with increased secrecy and continue to mistreat detainees.
At a recent press conference, he said ICE officers appeared to read from scripts when answering questions during his visit and that conditions have worsened in some ways since recent leadership changes at the Department of Homeland Security.
Castro and human-rights organizations have raised concerns that children in the facility are receiving substandard food and medical care and are being denied proper education.
