Days after another round of No Kings! protests brought Robert De Niro, Jana Fonda, Jimmy Kimmel, Bruce Springsteen and millions more out on the streets to rally against Donald Trump, some of the same celebs and others are seeking to have an immigration detention facility in Texas shut down ASAP.
And when Raffi and Ms. Rachel speak, maybe it’s time to listen.
“No child should be locked in an immigration detention center,” says a petition also signed by Oscar winner Fonda, Pedro Pascal, Sinners star Wunmi Mosaku, The Gilded Age‘s Morgan Spector and Carrie Coon, Natasha Lyonne, Andor‘s Diego Luna, director Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu and many more.
“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 change.org originating letter adds. “Children held in immigration detention endure trauma, neglect and conditions that violate basic standards of health, safety, dignity and human rights.” (read the full letter and its latest big name signatories below)
The missive is directed at private prison company CoreCivic, along with Donald Trump, ICE Director Todd Lyons and now former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. DHS did not respond to request for comment from Deadline on the letter, the now over 2,600 and rising verified signatures it has received and its aims.
Keke Palmer, Madonna, Pose lead Billy Porter, soccer icon Abby Wambach, Riley Keough, Ramy Yousef, Melissa Barrera, Mark Ruffalo, Bride director Maggie Gyllenhaal, Lena Dunham, and Hacks‘ Hannah Einbinder also signed the anti-Dilley letter. “It’s a Hell hole, a prison,” one signatory told Deadline of Dilley. “It’s a blight on America.”
Hit with reports of disease, abuse and more within its walls, the family and children oriented Dilley venue became well-known in recent months when Liam Conejo Ramos was sent there by DHS and ICE.
The blue hat and Spider Man backpack wearing five-year-old was picked up during the fatal siege of Minneapolis and surrounding areas by Trump’s team earlier this year, and sent to Texas after being used as bait by ICE to capture Liam’s father Adrian Conejo Arias.
Protestors hold a photo of Liam Conejo Ramos during an “ICE Out” rally in NYC on Jan. 23, 2026 (Photo:Getty)
In an era of near continuous cruelty by the administration, the imprisonment of the boy and his father attracted massive media and political attention and eventually saw both released on February 1. The asylum seeking family continues to battle deportation orders to Ecuador.
In the last month, the number of families held at Dilley has fallen, according to human rights advocates and the federal government. Still, a number of protests have broken out since late January both outside and inside the venue on over the terrible conditions there.
Immensely popular child educator and entertainer Ms. Rachel, who has attracted a fair degree of blowback from the MAGA crowd over her anti-ICE outspokenness, says in a statement about the Dilley petition: “Every child, everywhere, deserves to feel safe, to be cared for, and to be treated with dignity. We can all agree that no child should be locked in an immigration detention center and subjected to these cruel conditions. This is not who we want to be.”
Read the full petition to Trump and DHS here:
Close Dilley ICE Detention Center: Protect Children
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.
Children held in immigration detention endure trauma, neglect and conditions that violate basic standards of health, safety, dignity and human rights.
The harms of detaining children are known and well documented. Court filings of abuse against children have included refusals to provide clean water, rotten food contaminated with worms, dangerous medical neglect, sleep deprivation, denial of legal counsel, the separation of children from their families, and retaliation against families protesting the inhumane conditions.
Children belong in schools and on playgrounds, not in detention centers.
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.
Our commitment does not end with closure. We demand transparency, accountability, and systemic reforms to prevent these abuses from happening anywhere in the United States.
Sign on to help protect children and their families.
Join our supporters:
Abdi Nazemian, Artist
Abby Wambach, Artist
ActionAid USA
Adwoa Agyarkowah, MD, Family and Community Medicine
Aisha Mays, MD, Family Medicine and Adolescent Medicine Physician
Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu, Artist
Ali Wentworth, Artist
Aliya Rahman, Software engineer and Social Justice Activist
Alok Patel MD, Board Certified Pediatric Hospitalist, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, and Medical Journalist
Amanda Bryson, MD, MPH, Pediatrician, San Francisco, CA
Anjana Sharma, MD, MAS, Associate Professor of Family and Community Medicine, UCSF
Anjali Malik, MD, Breast imaging radiologist
Ana Delgado, CNM, MS Clinical Professor, UCSF
Angela L. Rasmussen, PhD, University of Saskatchewan and Save America Movement
Anna Ruderman, MD, Board Certified Pediatrician
Anita K Patel, MD, FAAP, Double Board Certified Pediatrician, Pediatric Critical Care Doctor and Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Arghavan Salles, MD PhD, Clinical Associate Professor
Ariana DeBose, Artist
Aron Accurso, Artist
Ashlyn Brown, MD, Family Medicine
Ashlyn Harris, Artist
Ashley Jeanlus, MD, FACOG, OBGYN
Ashley M. Cozzo, MD, FAAP, Double Board Certified Pediatrician, Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine and Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics
Avanthi Jayaweera, MD, Family Medicine
Alyssa Burgart, MD, MA, FAAP, Clinical Professor Stanford University School of Medicine
Alyssa Milano, Artist
America Ferrera, Artist
Rev. Dr. Bernice A. King
Bianca Allison MD MPH, Primary Care Pediatrician
Billy Porter, Artist
Bobby Lopez, Artist
Brandi Carlisle, Artist
Breanna Stewart, Artist
Britney Griner, Artist
Brittany Mitchell, MD, FAAP, Board Certified Pediatrician
Caitlin Blau, DO, Family Medicine
Carrie Coon, Artist
Casey Revkin, Executive Director of Each Step Home
Cherien Dabis, Artist
Christine Dehlendorf, MD, MAS, Family Medicine
Christine Jackson, DO/MPH, Ob/Gyn
Chris Perfetti, Artist
Christina Ricci, Artist
Dr Cindy Brough, MD, Board Certified Pediatrician
Celine Song, Artist
Cobie Smulders, Artist
Conny Moody, MBA, FNAP
Constance Wu, Artist
Cynthia Nixon, Artist
Danielle Johnson, DO, OB/GYN
Darren Criss, Artist
Devki Joshi, MD, Los Angeles General Medical Center Ob/Gyn
Diego Luna, Artist
Diana Perez, MD, Family and Community Medicine
Donovan Patton, Artist
Drew Scott, Artist
Elaine Wentworth, Artist
Elizabeth Banks, Artist
Elizabeth Uy-Smith MD, MPH, MAS, Community and Family Medicine
Elisabeth Sulger, MD, OB/GYN and Complex Family Planning, Physicians for Reproductive Health
Elissa Serapio, MD, Obstetrician-Gynecologist
Eliza Douvikas, MD, Board-Certified Pediatrician
Elora Mukherjee, Jerome L. Greene Clinical Professor and Director, Immigrants’ Rights Clinic, Columbia Law School
Elise D Berlan, MD, MPH, FAAP, FSAHM, Pediatrics, Adolescent Medicine
Elliot Page, Artist
Emily Murphy, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine & Pediatrics
Erinma Ukoha, MD, MPH, Maternal-Fetal Medicine Physician
Elias Kass, ND
Eva Longoria, Artist
Frances Fisher, Artist
Gabor Maté, Artist
Gavin Yamey MD, MPH, Professor of Global Health and Public Policy
Glennon Doyle, Artist
Goleen Samari, PhD, MPH, MA, Associate Professor, University of Southern California
Grant Gustin, Artist
Gregg Gonsalves PhD, Associate Professor, Yale School of Public Health
Gracie Abrams, Artist
Hannah Einbinder, Artist
Illana Glazer, Artist
Indigo Girls (Emily Sailers, Amy Ray), Artist
Isabel Lee, MD, Professor of Family and Community Medicine
Ilina Das Ewen, Child Health Advocate
Janicza Bravo, Artist
Jane Fonda, Artist
Javier Bardem, Artist
Jasmine Chan, MD, Family Medicine
Jen Tullock, Artist
Jennifer Cook, Artist
Jennifer Lai, DO, Family and Community Medicine
Jennifer Lincoln, MD, FACOG
Jenny Jin, MD
Jess Craven creator/ author of chop wood carry water substack
Jessica Malaty Rivera, MS, Infectious Disease Epidemiologist
Jessica M Garcia, Artist
Jessica Mitter, DO, MSc, Family Medicine Physician
Joanna Parga Belinkie, MD, IBCLC, Clinical Neonatologist and Pediatrician
John Cusack, Artist
John Legend, Artist
Jody Steinauer, MD, PhD, OBGYN
Jordan Walker Ross, Artist
Josh Dela Cruz, Artist
Joseph S. Thomas, MD
Jyothi Marbin, MD, Pediatrician
Katie Couric, Artist
Kaitlin Becker, Artist
Kathryn Grody, Artist
Kate Duffy, Motherhood for Good Rights Lawyer
Kat Vargas, Content Creator and Founder of Howdy Politics
Keke Palmer, Artist
Keri Garel, MD, OB GYN, Fellow, Physicians for Reproductive Health
King Princess, Artist
Kristina Anderson-Lopez, Artist
Lance Bass, Artist
Lara M. Jones, MD, FAAP, Double Board Certified Pediatrician, Pediatric Critical Care Doctor and Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics
Lauren Hughes, MD, Board-Certified Pediatrician
Lealah Zahedi-Spung, MD, OBGYN
Leilah Pollock, MD MS, Family Physician
Lena Dunham, Artist
Leslie Treece, M.D., FAAP, Board-Certified Pediatrician
Lindsay Meyer-Harley, Founder, Still We Rise
Loryn Brantz, Artist
Lourdes Juarez, Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Primary Care
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Artist
Maheetha Bharadwaj, MD
Malina Matsoukas, Artist
Mandy Patinkin, Artist
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Artist
Mary Ngyuen, MD, MSc, Family and Community Medicine
Mary Vernov, MD
Mark Ruffalo, Artist
Matthew T. Ball, MD, Fellow of the Academy of Emergency Medical Services
Mansi Kotwal, MD/MPH, Double Board Certified Pediatrician, Allergist and Immunologist and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Madonna, Artist
Maya McCoy, MD, Internal Medicine-Pediatrics
Megan Masten, MD, Complex Family Planning Physician
Megan Prior, MD, Board Certified Pediatrician
Melissa Barrera, Artist
Michelle Williams, Artist
Michael Chernus, Artist
Mickey Sumner, Artist
Montida Fleming, MD, Family and Community Medicine
Morgan Spector, Artist
MUNA (Katie Gavin, Naomi McPherson, Josette Maskin), Artist
Murray M Pollack, Professor of Pediatrics
Mychal the Librarian, Artist
Dr. Naomi Lawrence-Reid, M.D., Board Certified Pediatrician
Natasha Lyonne, Artist
Naga Pannala MD, Senior Medical director, Archwell Health Board certified internal medicine, cardiology, echocardiography, nuclear cardiology, and cardiac CT
Natalie Richman, ESQ.
Nika Douvikas, MD, Board-Certified Pediatrician
Nick Gonzalez, Artist
Nicola Coughlan, Artist
Nikki Sapiro Vinckier PA-C, Author of We Deserve More: Why Reproductive Healthcare is Broken–And What You Can Do About It
Olivia Richman, MD
Owais Durrani, DO, Emergency Medicine Physician
Padget Skogman,MD, FAAP, Board Certified Pediatrician
Pamela Adlon, Artist
Pamela Mehta MD, orthopedic surgeon
Parvati Shallow, Artist
Pedro Pascal, Artist
Peter Sinton, MD, FAAP, Board-Certified Pediatrician
Poppy Liu, Artist
Ms. Rachel, Artist
Raffi, Artist
Ramy Yousef, Artist
Ravayna Coe, Artist
Rebecca Hall, Artist
Rena Malik, MD, Urologist & Pelvic Surgeon
Riley Keough, Artist
Ross Newman (Dr. Rossome) MD, FAAP, Board Certified Pediatrician
Sara Barielles, Artist
Sara Kendall, MD, Family Medicine
Sara Wiles, Artist
Sandeepa Rajadhyaksha, MD, Board Certified Pediatrician
Sandy Li, MD, MPH, Family and Community Medicine
Saya Nagori, MD, Board Certified in Ophthalmology and Founder of FemHealth
Sasha Hamdani, MD, Board Certified Psychiatrist
Shikha Jain, MD FACP
Sophia Bush, Artist
Sohla and Ham El-Waylly, Artist
Stephanie Rand, MD, OBGYN Physician
Steve Boyer, Artist
Steve Burns, Artist
Swati Divakarla, MD, Double Board Certified Adult Psychiatrist and Child/Adolescent Psychiatrist
Sydney Hartman-Munick, MD, Pediatrician and Adolescent Medicine Physician
Tatiana Maslany, Artist
Taylor Nichols, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor, Emergency Medicine
Tejasvi Gowda, MD, OB/GYN
Theresa H. Cheng, MD, JD, Assistant Professor, Emergency Medicine, UCSF; Civil Rights Lawyer
Teresa Skelly, MD, MPH, Pediatrician
Thu Dao, MD, Family and Community Medicine
Tonia L. Farmer, MD, Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery
Tommy Dorfman, Artist
Tommy Martin, MD
Tracy Tyson, MD, Board Certified Pediatrician
Victoria Ngo, MD, Family Medicine
William B. Burrough, MD, MPH, Pediatrician
Wunmi Mosaku, Artist
Xochitl Gonzalez, Artist
Yasmin Maya, Artist
Zainne Saleh, Artist
Zoe Taylor, MD, MBA, Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians