Texas state police used tear gas to disperse a demonstration outside a US immigration detention facility where protesters demanded the release of a 5-year-old Ecuadoran boy, among others swept up in the Trump administration’s immigration clampdown.
About 100 protesters gathered at the South Texas Family Residential Centre in Dilley on Wednesday, carrying signs accusing federal agents of terrorizing communities. Local elected official Christina Morales told AFP that protesters were calling for the impeachment of Governor Kristi Noem and a defunding of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). They also wanted heightened attention during this year’s midterm elections.
State law enforcement responded with riot gear, deploying tear gas canisters which injured an Associated Press reporter near where they landed. The police response came after Texas congressmembers Joaquin Castro and Jasmine Crockett conducted an inspection for child detainee Liam Conejo Ramos and 1,100 others held at the privately-run facility.
Conejo’s father described his son as having been in a state of depression since being seized by immigration officers. The congressman insisted that the boy and his family were “legally in the United States” after an incident where Conejo had reportedly been used as bait for his father’s arrest. A federal judge temporarily blocked their deportation on Tuesday, but protesters demanded the release of everyone else held at Dilley.
The facility superintendent noted that there was no crime among those detained, contrary to Trump’s claim they were “illegal criminal aliens.” Castro also raised concerns about Dilley being privately run and called for its closure. National outcry followed images of the apparently terrified young boy being forcibly removed from his home by immigration authorities.