San Antonio 50501 group to protest ‘abuses’ at Pearsall ICE detention facility

After the Current’s recent report on a flood of 9-1-1 calls from inside the South Texas ICE Processing Center in nearby Pearsall, organizers of the local chapter of anti-Trump activist group 50501 have organized a protest at the private detention site to decry conditions there.

Organized as an emergency call-to-action, the day-long protest will take place outside the Pearsall facility, 566 Veterans Drive, on Wednesday, July 2. The demonstration will run 7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

“On 06/27/2025 the San Antonio Current reported a large number of 9-1-1 calls were coming from the South Texas Detention Center in Pearsall, TX,” said the group said in a media statement. “The calls were a range of concerning abuses happening in the facility. It is reported the facility keeps inmates in horrid and cruel conditions. In response, 50501 SATX has called an emergency protest in front of the facility.”
The group invited protesters to join together in a peaceful demonstration outside the GEO Group-run facility, which houses up to 1,900 detainees, both men and women.

In its recent story, the Current detailed the conditions reported from inside, including reports of extreme rationing and prescribing of water for an array of health conditions. A flood of emergency calls originating from the facility over the past few months also detailed incidents such as suicide attempts, pregnancy complications and sexual abuse.

GEO Group officials didn’t respond to the paper’s request for comment on the calls.

“50501 SATX stands in solidarity with our immigrant community and firmly opposes any abuses of power,” the group’s media release continued. “Regardless of individual circumstances, every person is entitled to protections by the Constitution and federal law.”

The Current also reported in 2018 on allegations of extreme rationing, inadequate medical care and inaccessibility of legal representation inside the facility. That story reported on claims that detainees unable to get enough to eat took kitchen jobs that pay $3 a day just so they could purchase food at the facility’s commissary.

“Detention is intended to break people’s wills, so they will accept a deportation order,” Kathrine Russell, an attorney with immigrant legal services provider RAICES, told the Current at the time.

The United States currently has 59,000 immigrants under detention, the largest such population recorded in the nation’s history. In the midst of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, the Pearsall facility’s population has swelled to near-capacity, potentially exacerbating issues inside, RAICES officials recently told the Current.
“They deserve to be treated with humanity and dignity,” 50501’s statement said of immigrants in detention. “We hope by demonstrating that we can shine a light to these injustices and push for an end to the ongoing abuse.”
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This article appears in Jun 26 – Jul 9, 2025.