LAREDO, Texas – One day after Texas Democratic lawmakers visited a Dilley immigration family detention center and two people were arrested during a protest near the facility, another member of Congress is planning to address the facility’s impact in his district on Thursday afternoon.
U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Democrat based in Laredo and serving Texas’ 28th District, will discuss the impact at the Laredo Holding Institute “to raise awareness about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) transferring detained families from the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley to Laredo,” according to a news release from the congressman.
The news conference is scheduled for 2 p.m. KSAT is livestreaming the news conference in this article.
According to Cuellar, ICE began “increasing the number of families moving from the Dilley facility” to shelters along the U.S.-Mexico border last week. The congressman’s office also claimed that ICE planned to send dozens more people (between “45 to 60″ per day) to the Laredo Holding Institute over the next few weeks.
Fellow U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro said Wednesday that the Dilley facility was on lockdown to prevent the springing up of protests. In a statement to KSAT sent Wednesday evening, an ICE spokesperson denied Castro’s claim that the facility was on lockdown and that ICE would “never” deny medical care to immigrants.
This is a developing story. Please check back for more updates.
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