SAN ANTONIO, Texas
During a press conference at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center on Tuesday, Democratic lawmakers urged for the center’s closure. They addressed reporters as a small crowd of demonstrators outside called for the release of detainees being held in facilities designed for families awaiting deportation.
A delegation led by Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) was organized in response to the recent ICE detention of two children and their stepmother in San Antonio. A family from Venezuela, comprised of three members, was taken into custody in the affluent Alamo Heights neighborhood, with the Department of Homeland Security stating they were in the U.S. unlawfully. Maria Bethania Uzategui-Castillo, a student at Cambridge Elementary, along with her two stepchildren, was moved to the Dilley Immigration Detention Center following their arrest and is now awaiting proceedings for their release.
A spokesperson from the DHS commented on the apprehensions, stating, “These individuals entered the United States illegally from Mexico on December 4, 2021. This administration will not ignore the rule of law.”
Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas) referred to the facility, which opened in 2014 under the Obama administration, as a “baby prison.” She expressed, “We need to close Dilley now. It is an infant prison where women and children suffer and are denied medical care and respect. We must end family detention,” in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Operated by CoreCivic, the facility was reopened by the Trump administration after being shut down by officials from Biden’s administration. CoreCivic provides a video tour on its website that outlines the amenities available for detainees awaiting their release hearings. These include a cafeteria catering to 7,000 meals per day, a 24-hour walk-in clinic, a children’s gym, multiple play areas, and five courtrooms, alongside a game room for children, and 32 classrooms equipped for educational needs.
Rep. Christian D. Menefee (D-TX) accused ICE officers of misleading them during a tour of the facility. In a post on X, he stated that the detainees had restricted movement and that the claims of ample access to food and medical facilities were false. Menefee further alleged that the individuals held at the center were essentially “kidnapped” by ICE, asserting, “They are kidnapping people in the middle of the night and bringing them to this detention facility, and as far as we know, no one has been convicted here.”
