Texas police fire pepper balls at protesters outside Dilley immigration center

Two people were arrested and Texas police on Wednesday used pepper balls to disperse protesters outside a federal immigration detention center in South Texas as Democratic lawmakers sought to inspect the facility and meet with family members detained there as the Trump administration expands immigration enforcement.

The clashes occurred outside the South Texas Family Housing Center in Dilley, about 75 miles southwest of San Antonio, where demonstrators had gathered to protest the detention of immigrant families, including a 5-year-old boy and his father who were transferred to Texas after being detained in Minnesota earlier this month.

Protesters approached the perimeter before police ordered the crowd to back off and deployed pepper balls, according to video footage and eyewitness accounts. Video captured by MySA showed a chemical agent canister landing near protesters and chants echoing outside the facility.

The protests coincided with a visit to the facility by U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, where he met with the child, Liam Cornejo Ramos, and his father, Adrian Alexander Cornejo Arias. Castro later said he pressured federal officials to release them and expressed concern about the detention of young children.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a Dallas Democrat who is running for U.S. Senate, also plans to visit the facility.

The Texas Department of Public Safety told the American-Statesman that it responded to the protest at the request of the city of Dilley, emphasizing its responsibility to protect public safety and state property. DPS said it coordinates with local, state and federal law enforcement partners while also protecting the constitutional rights of demonstrators.

After a dispersal order was issued, about 150 protesters refused to leave, attempted to break through established protest barriers and spat at police, according to DPS. Troopers then used less-lethal measures, including pepper balls and other projectiles, to “ensure officer safety and maintain order,” the agency said.

DPS said two people were arrested on charges including resisting arrest and obstructing official business.

“Texas is a state of laws,” Democratic Press Secretary Sheridan Nolen said. “The department has zero tolerance for individuals who disrupt public order or endanger law enforcement officers. Our men and women stand ready to enforce the law and assist our law enforcement partners in any necessary capacity.”

Earlier this week, a federal judge temporarily blocked immigration authorities from deporting Ramos and his father from the United States while their detention is challenged in court.

Castro, Crockett and other Texas Democrats also accused Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem of overseeing aggressive law enforcement tactics while shielding detention facilities from oversight and called for Noem’s impeachment.

Dilley’s protest was the latest in a growing series of demonstrations in South and Central Texas against ICE and federal immigration enforcement, following weeks of rallies in Austin, San Marcos and surrounding communities. Activists have repeatedly gathered outside City Hall, courthouses and federal buildings, calling on local officials to limit cooperation with immigration authorities and warning that heavy-handed enforcement has further plunged immigrant families into fear and isolation.

Organizers say the protests reflect growing dissatisfaction with state laws mandating cooperation with ICE, even as local leaders claim their hands are tied.