The event takes place during the National Day of Action to Free Families, which will feature several similar events happening across the country protesting the practice of family detention across the United States.
Media Contact: John Henry, jhenry@childrensdefense.org, CDF Media Relations Manager, 708-646-7679
AUSTIN, TX—On Wednesday, Children’s Defense Fund-Texas (CDF-TX) will gather at the Texas State Capitol alongside youth and immigration advocates to participate in the Free Families Vigil.
The vigil is part of the larger National Day of Action to Free Families, which calls on advocates, faith communities, parents, and concerned community members across the country to attend events and contact members of Congress to demand an end to the cruel practice of family detention.
Participants at the Texas event will sing, pray, and hear stories from impacted community members on the south steps of the capitol building. Earlier in the day, many participants will also visit the district offices of their members of Congress to deliver teddy bears and paper dolls, and share personal stories describing the impact of family detention. The bears and dolls are meant to represent the real children subjected to ICE detention.
“Every child deserves dignity, safety, and freedom,” CDF-TX Senior Administrator of Policy and Advocacy Trudy Taylor Smith Esq. “Right now, ICE is systematically abusing and neglecting children by detaining them and their families under horrific conditions. We’re asking Congress to protect children and families by voting against any additional funding for ICE and Border Patrol and immediately passing legislation to end family detention once and for all.”
Since President Trump’s second term began, more than 6,200 children have been arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), while the parents of at least 27,000 children have been detained across America. Hundreds of families have been detained at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, where young people and their parents are denied adequate food, clean drinking water, and medical care.
Free Families Vigil
7:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. CST
1100 Congress Avenue
Austin, Texas 78701
Wednesday, May 20, 2026
The National Day of Action to Free Families is organized by Free Families: The National Coalition to End Family and Child Detention (Free Families), led by CDF-TX and partner organizations such as Detention Watch Network and Amnesty International USA, and the Read Them Home initiative, which is led by the 10 Steps Campaign and the National Domestic Workers Alliance. The vigil in Texas is organized by CDF-TX in collaboration with Grassroots Leadership and Texas Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry.
Parents, educators, health professionals, faith communities, and all concerned individuals are encouraged to join the Austin Event.