HOUSTON → DILLEY

The Dilley Immigration Processing Center in South Texas is used to detain immigrant families, including children, while they navigate immigration proceedings.

Family detention has existed in different forms for years, and Dilley itself has become a major focus of national conversations about the detention of children and parents.

Our campaign is focused on ensuring that what happens behind detention walls is not invisible to the communities outside them.

Since Dilley reopened in March 2025, approximately 3,000 children have been detained inside the facility. More than half were held for longer than 20 days, and at least 60 children had remained in detention for 100 days or more. During a congressional visit in July 2026, lawmakers reported more than 500 people detained at Dilley, including 112 children. These numbers represent children spending weeks and in some cases months of their childhood behind detention walls. We are going to Dilley to make sure what happens inside this facility does not happen quietly or without public attention. We are showing up to stand in solidarity with detained families, bring greater awareness to family detention, and remind the people inside that they have not been forgotten.

Our action is not directed at the residents of Dilley. It is directed at the detention system and the policies that allow children and families to be confined behind its walls.

Community members will travel together from Houston to Dilley for a coordinated day of action. Transportation planning includes charter buses, designated bus captains, safety teams, community volunteers, and organized travel logistics.

Additional details will be provided directly to registered participants as the action approaches.

 The Dilley Coalition brings together organizations, organizers, and community members across Texas to stand against the detention of children and families. We’re building a sustained, community-led effort through education, advocacy, direct action, and shared resources 

Join us as we build toward our next Dilley action on January 30, 2027.

Community safety is central to our organizing. Our planning includes trained safety volunteers, street medics, street marshals, transportation coordination, participant accountability, and preparation for weather and other conditions. Registered participants will receive important safety and logistical information before the action.

You can still make this action possible. Community support helps us cover transportation, action supplies, water, food, safety resources, and other essential costs.

Businesses and community organizations can also contribute through sponsorships and in-kind donations.