Several protesters were detained and others were exposed to tear gas Wednesday during a demonstration at a family immigration detention facility in the US state of Texas.

The protest took place outside the center in the town of Dilley, where a 5-year-old Ecuadorian boy and his father are being held by US authorities, according to the KSAT news station.

Demonstrators gathered near the facility chanting slogans including “Free the children” and “Bring them home” while facing officers from US Customs and Border Protection and the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS).

Additional DPS troopers arrived at the scene shortly before 2.30 pm local time (2030GMT), some wearing riot gear, including helmets, and carrying shields and batons.

At least two protesters were detained by law enforcement officers during the confrontation. Several others were sprayed with tear gas and received medical treatment at the scene.

Earlier in the day, Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro met with the child, identified as Liam Conejo Ramos, and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Ramos.

They were detained last week in Minnesota, in a case that has drawn renewed attention to immigration enforcement policies under the administration of President Donald Trump. (Anadolu Agency)

*Dozens of protesters were detained in Manhattan, New York on Tuesday evening after staging a sit-in at the lobby of a TriBeCa hotel, which they said was housing federal immigration agents involved in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, The New York Times reported.

More than 100 protesters gathered inside the Hilton Garden Inn on Sixth Avenue near Canal Street, denouncing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency with chants and anti-ICE slogans printed on their black T-shirts.

The demonstrators also criticized Hilton, alleging that the company was providing accommodation to ICE agents.

Hotel staff and guests appeared confused by the protest, and it was not immediately clear whether ICE agents were staying at the hotel.

Police officers entered the Hilton lobby and warned that anyone who refused to leave would be arrested, prompting many to exit, while reporters were also forced out and about 50 protesters remained inside.

Later, officers from the Police Department’s Strategic Response Group moved in to arrest the remaining protesters. Police said there were “multiple” arrests, but no immediate information was released on the number detained or the charges.

The Manhattan protest followed a similar demonstration in Minneapolis after the deaths of Renee Nicole Macklin Good, a mother of three, and Alex Jeffrey Pretti, an intensive care unit nurse, who were fatally shot in separate incidents involving ICE agents in the city this month.

The US Department of Homeland Security said both individuals posed a threat to agents, a claim disputed by politicians, journalists and civil rights groups citing video footage from the scene.

The back-to-back deaths have triggered protests across Minnesota and elsewhere in the US, with demonstrators demanding accountability, transparency and independent investigations into federal immigration enforcement actions. (Pieced togethr from reports by Anadolu Agency)

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