Texas Lawmakers Demand Release of Children Detained at ICE Facility in Dilley

A small but determined group of protesters gathered outside the ICE detention center in Dilley, Texas, as renewed calls from state lawmakers demanded the immediate release of children and families being held there. The spotlight is on the Uzcategui-Laborador family from Alamo Heights, whose two children, Victor Jr. and Monseratt, along with their stepmother Betania, were detained last week after ICE agents rounded them up.

The family fled Venezuela in 2021 seeking asylum, only to be caught in the cruel machinery of immigration enforcement that continues to operate under the Trump administration’s legacy. U.S. Representative Joaquin Castro toured the Dilley facility and reported seeing the children in tears, though they expressed gratitude for the community support rallying for their release.

Castro did not mince words in condemning the tactics used to detain these vulnerable children. “That tactic is not unusual, either being targeted at a bus stop where kids wait for the school bus or being lied to by ICE under Donald Trump’s administration,” he said, highlighting a pattern of predatory enforcement aimed at families and children.

U.S. Representative Sylvia Garcia of Houston echoed the outrage, bluntly stating, “A jail is no place for children … this is a baby jail.” Her words cut through the sanitized language often used to describe detention centers, reminding the public that children are being held in conditions akin to incarceration.

Lawmakers are coordinating with the detained children’s father and have filed a habeas corpus petition challenging the legality of their detention. The family is also pushing to move forward with their asylum case, which ICE’s actions have severely disrupted.

This episode is part of a broader pattern of abuse and disregard for civil rights by ICE, especially under the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration policies. The detention of children and families at centers like Dilley continues to draw condemnation from activists and elected officials alike, who demand accountability and humane treatment for all immigrants.

Only Clowns Are Orange will continue tracking the fight for these families’ freedom and the broader struggle against the authoritarian overreach embedded in immigration enforcement practices. The detention of children is not just a policy failure — it is a moral crisis that demands urgent action.