Families Protest at Texas ICE Center After 5-Year-Old Transferred From Minnesota
Dozens of detained families demonstrated at Dilley after ICE transferred 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father from Minnesota, attorneys and protesters said.
Overview
Dozens of detained families at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley staged a protest Saturday after 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, were transferred there from Minnesota, attorneys and protesters said.
The transfer on Tuesday followed conflicting accounts from Department of Homeland Security officials and the family's attorney over whether relatives were offered the opportunity to care for the child before agents detained him, attorneys said.
Immigration attorneys and detainees alleged poor conditions at the facility, including reports of food with worms, constant illness and limited medical access, and Eric Lee, an attorney, said the demonstration was organized internally by families exhausted by long detention.
A December ICE report filed in ongoing federal litigation shows hundreds of children have been held at the Dilley facility beyond the Flores Settlement Agreement's 20-day limit, according to court documents.
Advocates and the family's attorneys said they plan legal challenges to seek access to Liam and to contest transfers and conditions, while a DHS spokesperson did not immediately comment, attorneys said.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame the story as a human-rights and child-protection issue by leading with protests and imagery of children, prioritizing detainees’ accounts and advocates’ reports of poor conditions while treating DHS statements as rebuttals. Examples include aerial protest photos, citing detention beyond court limits, and amplifying school-district allegations about the child’s apprehension.
Sources (22)
FAQ
ICE detained Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, outside their Minneapolis home in Minnesota. They were transferred to the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, on Tuesday, amid disputes over whether relatives were offered custody of the child beforehand.[1]
Detainees report food with worms and bugs, putrid drinking water, constant illness, limited medical access, and harsh treatment by guards. Hundreds of children have been held beyond the 20-day Flores Settlement limit.[1][2]
Dozens of detained families, including up to 80% of detainees (around 1,500 people), protested peacefully on January 24, 2026, chanting 'Libertad' and holding signs like 'Liberty for the kids.' Guards ordered visitors out, blocked sections to limit participation, and police vehicles responded.[1][2]
It is the only family detention center operating in the U.S., located in Dilley, Texas. Shut down in 2024 under Biden, it was reopened by President Trump in his second term.[4]
Advocates and attorneys plan legal challenges to gain access to Liam, contest the transfers, and address detention conditions. A December ICE report in federal litigation confirms violations of the Flores 20-day limit.
History
17 sources