# Protesters call for closure of family detention centers  
**Published:** 2026-05-07T01:41:24.000Z  
**Source:** [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/06/repub/protesters-outside-the-white-house-call-for-ending-detention-for-migrant-families-kids/)  
**AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001)  
**Canonical:** https://lincolne.news/article/protesters-call-for-closure-of-family-detention-centers

Hundreds of advocates gathered outside the White House on Tuesday evening to demand the closure of immigrant family detention facilities across the United States, citing alarming conditions at the [Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/06/repub/protesters-outside-the-white-house-call-for-ending-detention-for-migrant-families-kids/).

The "Close the Camps" vigil and protest, organized by the Coalition to End Family and Child Detention, drew many participants from Texas who described harrowing conditions at the facility south of San Antonio. Protesters carried signs reading "Set kids free" and displayed monarch butterflies, a symbol representing immigrants without legal status.

According to advocacy groups and legal filings, the Dilley facility has struggled with contaminated drinking water, inadequate food and healthcare, and insufficient clothing for detainees, many of whom are children. Families have reported paying $3 per bottle of water or $39 for a 12-pack from commissary to obtain safe drinking water after tap water reportedly smells of bleach and is undrinkable.

"Families are reporting worms and mold in the food that's making children ill," said Trudy Taylor Smith, a policy administrator for the Children's Defense Fund in Texas who attended the protest. "They are reporting a lack of access to clean drinking water."

The facility, one of two family detention centers operating in the country, was [reopened by the Trump administration in early 2025](https://www.npr.org/2025/03/07/g-s1-52674/trump-detention-families) after being shuttered for nearly four years. Since reopening, detained children have reported experiencing "sadness and depression" in letters to journalists, describing lost appetites and homesickness.

On the same day as the protest, a delegation of congressional Democrats led by Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, visited Dilley and urged the Department of Homeland Security to release all families detained there. "When it comes to the Dilley detention center, it's one horror after another and one abuse after another," Castro said after the inspection.

The Trump administration has [denied allegations of mistreatment](https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/debunking-mainstream-media-lies-about-south-texas-family-residential-center-dilley), stating in a press release that detainees have access to educational resources and regular medical screenings.

Dianne Garcia, a pastor at a San Antonio church, said she has witnessed the psychological toll on children in her community, including a previously gregarious 3-year-old who became fearful after detention. The impact extends beyond the detention facility itself, with enrollment drops in schools as families fear immigration enforcement.

Protesters also spoke against proposed detention facilities, including one in Alexandria, Louisiana, that would temporarily hold migrant families and unaccompanied children. An investigation found the Louisiana site heavily contaminated with PFAS, toxic chemicals linked to cancer and disease.

The issue resonates in Nebraska, where [advocacy groups have challenged ICE detention practices](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/03/25/nebraska-cases-highlight-legal-morass-from-ice-detention/) and the state has opened a new immigration detention center in McCook. The coalition aims to maintain pressure on the White House to shift rhetoric around detention and ultimately ban family detention through legislation.

## Sources

- [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/06/repub/protesters-outside-the-white-house-call-for-ending-detention-for-migrant-families-kids/)
- [NPR coverage of Trump administration's reopening of family detention centers](https://www.npr.org/2025/03/07/g-s1-52674/trump-detention-families)
- [ICE statement on Dilley facility conditions](https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/debunking-mainstream-media-lies-about-south-texas-family-residential-center-dilley)
- [Nebraska Examiner article on Nebraska detention cases](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/03/25/nebraska-cases-highlight-legal-morass-from-ice-detention/)

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This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Nebraska Examiner, enriched with 2 web searches. The original source is available at https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/06/repub/protesters-outside-the-white-house-call-for-ending-detention-for-migrant-families-kids/.