DILLEY, TEXAS — Texas Department of Public Safety troopers in riot gear used teargas to disperse a group of protesters demonstrating in front of the South Texas Family Detention Center immigrant detention center to demand the release of a 5-year-old taken into ICE custody.
Members of the San Antonio media along with several elderly demonstrators were affected by the gas, which was used to clear the group of roughly 70 protesters who drove in from other Texas cities. Community organizer Tori Ramierez, who also came into contact with the gas, said she saw DPS personnel arrest at least two protesters during the chaos.
Even so, Ramirez told the Current that she’s undeterred and will continue to protest against the Trump White House’s anti-immigrant crackdown.
“Nothing has changed from before we were pepper-sprayed and tear-gassed,” she said between coughs to clear her throat of the chemical irritant. “I’m even more motivated to fight and organize.”
The group of roughly 40 DPS troopers deployed the gas after tensions with protesters flared, Texas Public Radio reports. A haze lingered over the area outside the detention center, and protesters helped each other flush their eyes with water, according to the news outlet.
The protesters were at the detention center to demand the release of Liam Conejo Ramos, a Minneapolis 5-year-old who’s being held there along with his father. ICE agents detained the pair last week, sparking a national outcry and street protests.
On Wednesday morning, U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, met with Ramos and his father for about 30 minutes. The congressman also said he spoke with some of the other 1,000 or so migrants being held at the center — the only U.S. detention site for migrant families caught up in the White House’s enforcement actions.
“His dad said [Liam] hasn’t been himself and that he’s been sleeping a lot because he’s been depressed and sad,” Castro said in a clip posted to social media after the visit.
Castro said other parents in the lockup said their children are experiencing anxiety and depression. Some are losing weight due to their deteriorating mental health, the congressman added.
Castro and other Democratic lawmakers are set to hold a press conference in San Antonio at 4 p.m. about their visit. He will also lead a community rally against ICE at 6 p.m.
This is a developing story and may have further updates.
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