Watch: Texas Lawmaker Shares Inside-Migrant Center Video
Rep. Tony Gonzales posted a video from inside the Dilley Immigration Processing center in San Antonio. He says it shows how kids are cared for there.
The clip came after reports about a 5-year-old boy, Liam, who ended up in ICE custody when his parents ran from agents in Minnesota and left him behind.
Some outlets reported the 5-year-old child was “detained” by ICE and taken away from his parents. Gonzales pushed back on that narrative.
He posted the footage and described the center as safe and well-run. The video shows children exercising, using computers, and spending time in a library and on a basketball court.
“In the coming days, you’ll see a lot of grandstanding by politicians at the Dilley ICE Center in my district, #TX23,” Rep Gonzales wrote on X. “It’s all for show. I’ve been there and seen the state-of-the-art facilities and protocols that @ICEgov follows.
“Our ICE agents and CBP personnel are doing their jobs, and yet again, Democrats are doing everything they can to spin the truth against law enforcement,” Gonzales said.
Not everyone agrees. Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy said he flew to Texas to inspect the facility and was denied entry. He posted video and reacted publicly.
“I flew down to South Texas today to do my job – investigate why people are dying in ICE detention centers,” Murphy said.
“This is astonishing. It tells you that these guys have something to hide,” Murphy said in a video posted to X.
“If they are not letting members of Congress in with less than seven days’ notice, it tells you how much work they know they need to do to cover up and hide the things they don’t want us to see,” Murphy said.
I flew down to south Texas today to do my job – investigate why people are dying in ICE detention centers.
I was just illegally denied entry to Dilley Detention Center. Because they have something to hide. pic.twitter.com/YLXJ21Pn7x
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) January 20, 2026
Below is the original tweet referenced in these reports:
I flew down to south Texas today to do my job – investigate why people are dying in ICE detention centers.
I was just illegally denied entry to Dilley Detention Center. Because they have something to hide. pic.twitter.com/YLXJ21Pn7x
— Chris Murphy 🟧 (@ChrisMurphyCT) January 20, 2026
The back-and-forth is now part of a larger debate over how immigration facilities are run and how politicians use visits and videos to make their case.
The video from Gonzales adds one view. Murphy’s account and his denied-access claim add another. The public is left to weigh both and decide.