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DILLEY, TX — Texas Department of Public Safety troopers arrived in riot gear in Dilley on Wednesday as protesters gathered outside the South Texas Family Residential Center to draw attention to the detention of a five-year-old boy from the Minneapolis area being held at the ICE facility.
Texas Public Radio was on the scene as about 40 DPS troopers arrived at the protest site aboard a Dilley Independent School District bus.
As Texas Department of Public Safety troopers in riot gear moved toward protesters, tensions escalated near the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley. Protesters formed a line just feet from troopers' shields as the standoff intensified.
Angel Garza was outside the detention center with friends in support of immigrant families housed inside. He said the law enforcement response was unnecessary.
"They just started shooting pepper spray into the crowd to try to make people disperse for no apparent reason," Garza said.
Garza was among those helping protesters flush their eyes with water after authorities deployed pepper ball projectiles and other less-lethal measures.
TPR observed troopers deploy a chemical irritant used for crowd control, forcing demonstrators to disperse as the air became difficult to breathe. A thick white haze lingered in the area, and protesters could be seen helping one another flush their eyes with water. Some protesters were arrested during the clashes.
In a statement, the Texas Department of Public Safety said troopers were responding at the request of the City of Dilley to what it described as a planned and publicized protest. DPS said that after dispersal orders were given, "approximately 150 demonstrators refused to leave and began to breach the established protest barrier."
The agency said troopers then used less-lethal measures, including pepper ball grenades and projectiles, to maintain order and ensure officer safety. DPS said two people were arrested on charges including resisting arrest and interfering with public duties.
After the initial confrontation, conditions at the scene calmed. Law enforcement maintained a presence near the facility as protesters regrouped.
Dozens of protesters remained outside the detention center Wednesday, calling for the child's release and raising concerns about immigration detention practices involving families and children.
Among those at the protest was San Antonio art teacher Sheila Vasquez, who said the hour-long drive to Dilley was worth it if it meant standing up for children held in immigration detention.
Vasquez stayed up all night before the demonstration crafting a large white bird sculpture she calls a "protector," a symbol of hope for families inside the detention center.
"I don't know if the children can see us," she said, "but I thought maybe if I held it high enough, they might catch a glimpse and know that we care."
The case involving the five-year-old has drawn national attention from immigration advocates and civil rights groups. The Department of Homeland Security said the boy was taken into custody after his father fled, and that the child's mother is not in U.S. custody. DHS says agents followed federal law and standard enforcement procedures.
The protest came a day after a federal judge in San Antonio declined to immediately order the child's release, saying the court lacked authority to do so while the case proceeds. Several state and local lawmakers traveled to Dilley on Wednesday to call for the boy's release and to observe conditions at the facility.
The South Texas Family Residential Center has been a focal point in debates over family immigration detention. The facility was closed during the Biden administration and reopened last year.
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