Dozens of immigrant families gathered Saturday behind chain-link fences at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, chanting “¡Libertad!” as children held handmade signs reading “Libertad para los niños,” or “Freedom for the kids.”
The protest was sparked by the detention of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, who were transferred this week from Minnesota to the Texas ICE facility.
For families already held there for months, Liam’s arrival became a symbol of what they say is a system that treats children like criminals rather than asylum seekers.
The protest unfolded as immigration enforcement once again collided with deadly force hundreds of miles away. Earlier Saturday in Minneapolis, federal immigration agents shot and killed 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti during an encounter that authorities said followed a scuffle.
The Department of Homeland Security claimed Pretti was armed with a 9mm handgun and posed a threat, while Trump administration officials labelled him a “domestic terrorist.”
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara later said Pretti was believed to be a lawful gun owner with a permit. His family rejected the government’s account, saying Pretti had intervened to protect a woman who was shoved by immigration agents, calling the official narrative “reprehensible and disgusting.”
Inside the Dilley detention center, families said those same debates feel painfully personal. Maria Alejandra Montoya Sanchez, 31, who has been detained there with her 9-year-old daughter since October, said the message of Saturday’s protest was simple: dignity.
“We’re immigrants, with children, not criminals,” she told The Associated Press by phone from inside the facility. She briefly saw Liam and his father during the demonstration, she said, before guards intervened.
Attorneys and advocates argue Liam’s detention raises serious questions about whether his parents were given a real opportunity to leave him with relatives or community members before being taken into custody.
Government officials and the family’s legal team have offered conflicting accounts, fueling public outrage. Eric Lee, an immigration attorney visiting clients at Dilley during the protest, said guards abruptly ordered visitors out as families gathered.
“That parents and children would risk retaliation to speak up shows how desperate conditions have become,” he said.
Advocates cite reports of prolonged detention beyond court-mandated limits, inadequate medical care, and unsanitary food. ICE acknowledged in a December court filing that hundreds of children have been held longer than allowed.
