Clashes Erupt at US Detention Center During Protest for 5-Year-Old Asylum Seeker

On January 28, Texas law enforcement deployed tear gas in an attempt to disperse a protest occurring outside a US immigration detention facility. The demonstrators were calling for the release of a 5-year-old boy from Ecuador, alongside others affected by the Trump administration's hardline immigration policies.

A large group of protesters convened at the South Texas Family Residential Center situated in Dilley, brandishing signs that accused federal agents of instilling fear within communities.

Local official Christina Morales expressed her sentiments to AFP, stating, "We demand the impeachment of Kristi Noem, and we urge the US Senate to cease funding for ICE. We also call for increased public attention on this year's midterm elections."

In response to the protest, Texas state police arrived clad in riot gear. They released tear gas canisters, one of which landed dangerously close to two AFP journalists, affecting one of them temporarily.

Earlier in the day, Democratic Congress members Joaquin Castro and Jasmine Crockett had visited the facility to check on the well-being of the child, Liam Conejo Ramos, along with approximately 1,100 others held there.

Castro shared a video message on X, stating, "The boy's father mentioned that Liam has not been acting like himself, often sleeping excessively due to feelings of sadness and depression," asserting that Ramos and his family were in the United States legally.

The situation escalated following the circulation of distressing images depicting the young boy, precariously clad in a fluffy blue bunny hat while being held by immigration officers as they attempted to apprehend his father in Minneapolis.

On January 20, the boy and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias—both of whom are asylum seekers—were intercepted in their driveway upon arriving home. Reports indicated that immigration officers used the child as “bait” to apprehend his father, as explained by Zena Stenvik, the superintendent of the boy’s school.

A federal judge intervened and provisionally halted their deportation on January 27.

Castro further asserted that every individual detained at the facility should be released, reinforcing the notion that "there are no criminals in Dilley. Donald Trump targeted what he referred to as illegal criminal 'aliens'—not a single criminal can be found there."