Calls Grow to Shut Down Texas ICE Facility After Child Deportation

Calls to close the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in South Texas are intensifying after the detention and deportation of a 5-year-old boy and his father. The pair were arrested last week while traveling to soccer practice in Austin and subsequently sent to Mexico despite the father’s request for the child’s release to his mother.

Victor Martinez Nieto and his son Liam Tadeo were taken into custody just days before Liam was scheduled to start kindergarten. According to the family’s attorney, Nieto pleaded with officers to allow his son to be released to his mother, but Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reportedly refused. Both were later deported.

Democratic Congressmember Joaquin Castro of Texas has been a vocal critic of the facility, which he describes as a site of “commodification of child imprisonment.” Castro, who attempted to visit the pair at Dilley last week but was denied by ICE, has led a bipartisan push among more than 110 House Democrats to shut down the center.

“You have kids as young as 2 months old who have been in prison there,” Castro said in an interview. “Every child that’s put in there—every woman, every person—there are American investors who are making money off of their imprisonment.”

Federal guidelines under the Flores Settlement Agreement limit the detention of children to 20 days, but Castro says detainees are routinely held far longer. “I’ve met with kids who have been there three months, seven months, 10 months,” he said. “This is really abusive and traumatizing a lot of kids.”

Castro is scheduled to visit Dilley for the ninth time this year, where he plans to meet with ICE leadership. His advocacy comes amid growing scrutiny of family detention practices nationwide.

The detention center, operated by a private prison contractor, has long faced criticism from immigrant rights groups over conditions and prolonged confinement of minors. ICE has not publicly responded to requests for comment on the recent deportation or the allegations of extended detentions.

Advocates argue that the case of Liam Tadeo underscores broader concerns about the treatment of migrant children in U.S. custody. Lawmakers and activists continue to demand the facility’s closure, citing violations of humanitarian standards and due process.