Faith leaders complete 90-mile Dilley-to-San Antonio march urging an end to immigrant family detention

A four-day walk ends at San Antonio’s immigration courthouse

A group of faith leaders and immigration advocates completed a roughly 90-mile march from Dilley to downtown San Antonio on Saturday, February 28, 2026, concluding with a gathering outside the San Antonio Immigration Court. Organizers described the walk as a public call for the release of children and parents held in federal immigration custody and for an end to family detention.

The march began in Dilley, a South Texas community that is home to the South Texas Family Residential Center, a large immigration detention facility designed for families. The facility has been central to debates over whether detention is an appropriate setting for children and parents during immigration proceedings.

Why Dilley has become a focal point in the detention debate

The South Texas Family Residential Center was built for immigration enforcement operations in 2014 and has capacity for up to 2,400 individuals. Operations were idled in 2024 and later resumed under a renewed agreement that extends through at least March 2030, placing the facility back at the center of regional and national attention.

March participants said their route and destination were chosen to underscore how immigration enforcement decisions made far from the border directly shape family life in San Antonio and surrounding communities, including through detention, court hearings, and check-in requirements.

Organizers cite recent detentions affecting local congregations

Pastor Dianne Garcia, identified by march organizers as the event’s lead organizer, said the issue is personal as well as policy-driven. She said that in December, 13 members of her church were detained by immigration authorities, including people taken into custody during routine check-ins. She said those detained included a mother and her 3-year-old child, and she emphasized that those cases involved no criminal records.

As the group reached San Antonio, participants and supporters gathered near the courthouse and framed the march in faith-based terms, emphasizing dignity, family unity, and community safety. A 16-year-old participant, Daniel Perez, said his decision to join was rooted in religious teaching about human dignity and family integrity.

Stops along the route highlight broader risks faced by migrants

Some participants joined the final segment near Quintana Road, where a memorial stands for the June 27, 2022 tragedy in which 53 migrants died after being trapped inside a tractor-trailer in extreme heat. Marchers paused there as part of the final approach into downtown, linking the day’s protest to the dangers migrants face during smuggling attempts and to the broader humanitarian consequences of migration enforcement and irregular crossings.

• Start point: Dilley, near the family detention facility
• Duration: four days, with daily walking segments
• End point: rally outside the San Antonio Immigration Court

“We will keep walking,” Garcia told supporters at the conclusion, describing the march as part of a longer-term campaign to end family detention.

Organizers said the event was intended both as a demonstration and as an invitation for public participation, with supporters joining for portions of the route and at the final rally.