A group of celebrities and artists from film, television and music have signed a petition calling for the closure of the Dilley Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in South Texas.
“No child should be locked in an immigration detention center. We, the undersigned, call for the immediate closure of the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) family detention center in Texas and an end to the detention of children and families,” the petition said.
Who Signed the Petition?
Among the signatories are entertainers such as Mark Ruffalo, Pedro Pascal, Jane Fonda, America Ferrera and Ben Stiller, alongside many other public figures who have used their platforms to highlight concerns about the conduct of ICE.
The petition, which also brings together voices from across the medical community and academia, says detention can have adverse effects on the physical and mental health of detainees, particularly families and vulnerable populations.
Medical professionals among the signatories point to issues such as access to adequate care for children and adolescents. Legal scholars and human rights advocates involved in the effort emphasize due process concerns and the ethical dimensions of prolonged detention.
“We urge the federal government and CoreCivic to close the Dilley facility immediately, return children and families to the homes and communities they were taken from and to end child imprisonment now,” the petition said.
At the time of publication, the petition had received 45,287 verified signatures on Change.org.
When Did Dilley Open?
The South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, is the largest family immigration detention facility in the United States, built to house women and children apprehended at the southern border. It opened in December 2014 with an initial capacity of about 480 people, transferred from a temporary center in Artesia, New Mexico. The facility expanded over the following months to accommodate up to 2,400 residents by mid-2015.
The center operated for several years under contract with private companies to detain families while their immigration cases were processed. In June 2024, ICE closed the facility, citing cost considerations and policy changes under the Biden administration that reduced family detention. In 2025, the center was reopened under a new contract with private operators, resuming its use for family detention.
What Happened at Dilley?
Protests have taken place in and around the Dilley facility in response to concerns about detention conditions and the treatment of families held there. Demonstrators—including advocates, community members and some lawmakers—have gathered outside the center to call for improved conditions and the release of detained families. Inside the facility, detained families staged protests, voicing frustration over confinement and calling for their release.
A widely circulated photograph of Liam Conejo Ramos, a 5-year-old whom ICE detained in Minnesota, helped draw national attention to conditions at the Dilley facility and prompted public outcry. Liam and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, were sent to the facility following their arrest. A federal judge later ordered their release.
The detention center, located southwest of San Antonio, has drawn scrutiny from members of Congress and immigrant advocates amid a recent increase in family detentions. The Department of Homeland Security has said conditions at the facility meet established standards. Earlier this year, ICE placed the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas on lockdown following a measles outbreak.
“The media and sanctuary politicians have repeated false claims about the ICE Dilley facility including that children are denied medical care and don’t have educational resources,” DHS Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement. “The truth is this facility provided proper medical care for all detainees, including access to a pediatrician. Children have access to teachers’ classrooms, books, and toys.”
“Dilley is not a shelter; it is a cage,” Sirine Shebaya, the executive director at the National Immigration Project, said in a statement.
Amy Fischer, the director for refugee and migrant rights at Amnesty International USA, said: “Reports of medical neglect and children’s malnourishment at Dilley are not new. The administration’s constant decision to prioritize the dehumanization of immigrants over the well-being of families represents a system of deliberate neglect designed to punish people for searching for a better life. The only appropriate response is to immediately release all of the families, close Dilley, and end the practice of family detention.”
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