Texas Protests Erupt Over Detention of Immigrant Families

Mon Jan 26 2026 06:04:37 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Families demonstrate against the detention conditions at the South Texas Family Residential Center, seeking liberation for children detained along with their parents over immigration issues.

On Saturday, immigrant families protested outside a Texas detention facility in response to the recent detention of a 5-year-old boy and his father. Families, expressing their demand for dignity and better treatment, held signs and chanted for liberty. The protest aligns with growing tensions related to immigration enforcement, highlighted by conflicting accounts regarding detention practices and conditions faced by families. Advocates assert that many children are held beyond legal limits and endure poor living conditions.

Dozens of immigrant families protested on Saturday behind the fences of a Texas detention facility, responding to the recent detention of a 5-year-old Ecuadorian boy and his father after their apprehension in Minnesota. Children and their parents gathered at the South Texas Family Residential Center, with expressions of distress evident as they wore jackets and sweaters, many brandishing signs reading Libertad para los niños (Liberty for the kids).

According to the reports from the Associated Press, chants of Libertad! echoed from the group, spearheaded by advocates such as immigration attorney Eric Lee, who was at the facility for a client visit. Affected families voiced their desperation, with Maria Alejandra Montoya Sanchez, a 31-year-old mother detained alongside her 9-year-old daughter since October, echoing the sentiment that they should be treated with dignity and according to the law, asserting their identity as immigrants, not criminals.

The recent detention of Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, has sparked widespread concern and debate over the ethical implications of current immigration enforcement practices in the U.S., particularly under the Trump administration. The contrasting narratives from government officials and the immigrant families highlight the complexities of the situation, especially concerning whether proper opportunities were provided for the parents to arrange for the care of their child during the detention process.

Earlier on the same day, a federal immigration officer shot and killed a man in Minneapolis, triggering a wave of protests and accentuating the climate of fear and urgency surrounding immigration issues in the region. Montoya Sanchez noted that the demonstration was a necessary expression of frustration against the long detention times and inadequate living conditions reported by advocates, which include issues such as receiving food with worms and insufficient medical access.

Lee further emphasized the bravery of the families who risked retribution to raise their voices, adding that the ongoing mistreatment and long detentions are entirely unacceptable, with hundreds of children reportedly held beyond mandated limits under federal guidelines. The situation continues to evolve as advocates and families remain vocal about their plight.