Congressman Casar Demands Closure of Dilley Detention Center

The arrest of Tadeo, who was days away from starting kindergarten, marks the latest instance of ICE enforcement targeting young children. Representative Greg Casar, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, described the facility—run by CoreCivic—as a "trailer prison" and called for the release of at least 112 children currently detained there. Video footage of the arrest, shared by Univision’s Lidia Terrazas, shows the child crying while surrounded by immigration officers, echoing the public outcry surrounding the January detention of another five-year-old, Liam Conejo Ramos.

Conditions at the Dilley site remain under heavy judicial scrutiny. Just one day after Tadeo’s detention, U.S. District Court Judge Dolly M. Gee ordered new oversight at the facility, citing reports of unsafe temperatures, inadequate sleeping quarters, and a lack of basic hygiene products. Court findings suggest the government may be falsifying records regarding the duration of child detentions, which are legally capped at 20 days under the Flores settlement. Despite these findings, the Department of Homeland Security continues to ramp up deportation operations, recently telling local media that detention is a "choice" and urging undocumented residents to accept government-funded flights to self-deport.