Protesters chant anti-ICE slogans during a demonstration outside the migrant detention center in Dilley earlier this year. Credit: Michael Karlis

Another caravan of protesters is heading to the South Texas Family Residential Center an hour southwest of San Antonio, to decry the conditions inside.

This weekend’s demonstration at the controversial migrant detention center in Dilley is organized by an array of groups, including the Bexar County Democratic Party, Project Unidad and SATX Indivisible. It will depart San Antonio at 9 a.m. Saturday.

Those interested in carpooling to the prison camp — the only one in the U.S. that houses migrant families — should meet at 1400 W. Villaret Blvd. and fill out an online interest form.

The protest comes after Democratic U.S. Reps. Joaquin Castro and Greg Casar said during a press conference earlier this month that the privately run prison camp, reopened as part of the Trump White House’s immigration crackdown, is now operating under increased secrecy.

“When we got there, the folks at ICE pulled out scripts that they had been commanded to read by ICE leadership in Washington, D.C.,” Castro said, adding that there was a “creepiness” to new procedures in place at the lockup.

The center has faced months of scrutiny over allegations from human-rights advocates that families detained inside are receiving substandard food and medical care and children are suffering long-term psychological damage and aren’t getting access to educational facilities.

A recent court filing alleges a mother of five held in Dilley was taken to a nearby emergency room after weeks of complaining about excruciating pain, CNBC reported Thursday. A CT scan showed the woman’s pain was caused by fluid around her heart, or pericardial effusion, a serious and potentially fatal condition, according to the news outlet.


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Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...