Protest at the South Texas Family Residential Center

PROTESTS against the federal government’s South Texas Family Residential Center, an immigrant detention and processing facility, began at the downtown city park in Dilley on Wednesday morning, January 28, as members of the Democratic Party of Bexar County were joined by activists from a number of grass-roots organizations in proclaiming their opposition to a detention policy for undocumented immigrants and calling for the immediate release of 5-year-old Liam Ramos from Minnesota, who had been transported to the center with his father. More than 100 protesters had been brought in charter buses from San Antonio and proceeded to the facility from downtown Dilley to continue their display outside the facility’s gates, where they were met by a heavy law enforcement presence of local officers, Texas Highway Patrol troopers and US Border Patrol agents. Tear gas was deployed on the crowd Wednesday afternoon and two men were taken into custody by the DPS. US Congressman Joaquin Castro visited the facility Wednesday and also called for the child’s release. The boy and his father were returned to Minnesota on Sunday.
(CURRENT Photo: Marc Robertson)