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Tacos and food show up where people need them most especially in small towns outside detention centers. In this episode of Tacos of Texas, we head down to Dilley, Texas, near the South Texas ICE detention center, where families navigating detention are also navigating hunger, uncertainty, and dignity. Reports from inside describe food that’s often inedible, inadequate, or unsafe, leaving many families struggling just to eat. Outside those walls, Mexican restaurants, advocates, lawyers and organizers show up, serving tacos, warm plates, and kindness for families in transition. This episode is about conflict foods and what happens when the stress of having children and families detained in a detention center and the role food plays for these families. We also talk to organizers from the Free Families Pilgrimage and learn how history repeats itself, from the 1942 Japanese Internment Camps in Crystal City, TX to today’s detentions in Dilley, Texas.
The full transcript of this episode of Tacos of Texas is available on the KUT & KUTX Studio website. The transcript is also available as subtitles or captions on some podcast apps.
Satsuki Ina [00:00:00] We met with citizens of Crystal City, elders, who wanted to come and talk to us, and they told us stories about knowing that in their backyard there was a prison filled with Japanese people. One man told us about his father who would come regularly and push tortillas through the fence.
Mando Rayo [00:00:29] What’s up, Taco World? I’m taco journalist, Mando Rayo, and welcome to the Tacos of Texas podcast, El Seis, produced by Denity Productions in partnership with KUT and KUTX Studios. And we’re back exploring taco culture in Texas through the eyes of the people in the Lone Star State. So grab a taco map and get on IH35 and get ready for some muy tasty taco conversations. Tacos and food show up where people need them most, especially in small towns outside detention centers. In this episode of Tacos of Texas, we head down to Dilley, Texas, the site of the South Texas Ice Detention Center, where families navigating detention are also navigating hunger and dignity. Reports from inside describe food that’s often inedible, leaving many families struggling to eat. Outside those walls, Mexican restaurants, advocates, lawyers, and organizers show up serving tacos and kindness for families in transition. This episode is about conflict foods and what happens when the stress of having children and families detained in a detention center and the role food plays for these families. We also talk to organizers from the Free Families Pilgrimage and learn how history repeats itself. From the 1942 Japanese internment camps in Crystal City, Texas to today’s detentions in Dilley, Texas. What do you think of the term conflict food? What comes to you? For me, when I think about that, it’s about a war-torn country, what happens to food when it’s taken away, or when you’re eating under stress, when you are not safe and secure. And this idea around conflict food actually got it from Michael Shake. He wrote The Last Sweet Bite, when war changes the menu. Shout out to him and- writing this story around war and conflict and genocide and the impact on food culture and those cultural traditions. So for me, I was like, well, we’re in Texas, right? Do we have conflict? Do we have Conflict Zones? Yes, we do. It’s in these small towns where detention centers are set up. They’re far away from the city or urban areas. And it’s hard to get. And It’s hard to find. Lodging and resources are scarce, and in a sense, that’s why they set them up there, to make it hard for you to see what’s happening in the Lone Star State, in these small communities. Small communities like Dilley, Texas. And for me, I was like, okay, what happens to a community where a detention center is part of a small town and the culture and the economy? And when somebody is there visiting… What does that do to them around when they’re eating or maybe stress eating and really trying to figure out when they are going to get their next meal to like people that are being detained, how are they being treated? And so for me that definitely is a definition of conflict food and that’s why I wanted to explore this topic to understand like what does it do to our humanity when we’re under this stress. And it’s not something that… You know, it’s in another country. It’s right here, just south of San Antonio, right along I-35 in a small town in Texas. We’re on our way to the Dilley Detention Center in Texas. We make a first stop in San Antonio to talk with someone who’s seen the conflict firsthand. Amanda Aguilar is a young driven immigration lawyer at American Gateways. And since Trump took office again, her caseload has multiplied. Her clients are no longer only adults, but she’s seeing more and more children being detained. We sit down with her to talk about what’s really happening inside the walls of the only migrant family detention center in the country and the legality of it all.
Amanda Aguila [00:05:18] My name is Amanda Aguilar. I’m a staff attorney here at American Gateways from Austin, Texas, but I live here in San Antonio, Texas. And I represent a lot of detained immigrant families and adults.
Mando Rayo [00:05:32] And like, have you seen it changes in your workload since the Trump administration?
Amanda Aguila [00:05:37] To say the least, yes, absolutely, yes. My life was completely different before the Trump administration and after the Trump administration. It’s kind of like before and after. Yeah, I’m just very, very busy and the workload is so compelling because there’s just so many people getting detained, families getting detained. People with no criminal history whatsoever getting detained for months. And so it really inspires me to take on a lot of work.
Mando Rayo [00:06:05] Right, right. So tell us what you’ve been hearing about the conditions in these detention centers and more specifically around like some of the food and the water that we’ve been hearing about.
Amanda Aguila [00:06:17] Let’s say, for example, in the Family Detention Center in Dilley, right? They give you enough food. So it’s kind of like a quantity thing, but it’s not necessarily edible food. One of the most horrific things that I’ve heard is there’s worms in the food. Especially last summer, I was experiencing a lot of, a lot of the same calls of my clients telling me that they were getting their food with worms in it, which was very disturbing because then they couldn’t eat it, right. I have a client right now who’s suffering really bad. They can’t tell if she has gastritis or lupus and they actually won’t give her a special diet. So the food, it makes a lot of the people in there very sick. And then that leads to them having to access the medical care in Delhi, which is also very inadequate. And they’re having to buy bottled drinking water just so that they’re that the adults are having to buy it just so that their kids can have something to drink. They were charging at $1.39 for a 12-pack of water, and that was the only way to get potable water that didn’t make them sick.
Mando Rayo [00:07:31] How is that even legal? I don’t know how that even passes any kind of health code regulations.
Amanda Aguila [00:07:38] It’s not. The short answer is it’s definitely not legal. There’s so many constitutional suits that we can bring. And I think as this keeps going, we’re going to find the detention centers getting sued more and more. We just can’t sue them fast enough, unfortunately.
Mando Rayo [00:07:53] Uh, they’re being detained, they are separated from their families, including children, they are being fed, the bare minimum, probably not quality food, and then the water itself. What do you think that does to a person, uh, while they’re detained?
Amanda Aguila [00:08:09] I think it’s really dehumanizing for a lot of people, especially in the Latin culture, right? Like food is such a big part of how we like connect and show love and culturally, it’s so important to make a meal, share a meal together. A lot of mothers really take pride in feeding their kids healthy diets. And when they’re detained, they can’t, and it’s a really, really hard for the moms, especially when their kids are like. Having sickness or stomach issues related to that. It makes them feel like less than human, less important, less worthy. And like, obviously no person is not worthy of quality drinking water.
Mando Rayo [00:08:53] Yeah, it’s a basic human right and the government is doing this.
Amanda Aguila [00:08:58] Yeah, unfortunately, the government’s doing it. We’re all paying for this. And yeah, it’s just a complete waste of resources.
Mando Rayo [00:09:06] Right, right. So people are not only paying just to get potable drinking water, right, but they’re also paying for all these legal fees. What kind of expenses do families, like a family that has somebody in detention, what kind of fees are they looking at?
Amanda Aguila [00:09:23] I’m super blessed that I get to represent people at no charge, right? But right now, in order for anyone to get out of detention, whether that be family detention or adult detention, someone has to file a federal lawsuit. And that federal lawsuit is called a habeas corpus petition. And those private attorneys charge anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000 just for that portion. So that doesn’t even cover representing them in their asylum proceedings. Representing them in any other case that they have to remain here in the United States, that is just for representation in the lawsuit to get them released from detention. And you even, even for people who win their cases, ICE will still hold them and they still have to pay for that lawsuit. So it’s almost inevitable. So you’re looking at five to $10,000 and then plus the eating. And the drinking, and then there’s just obviously a ton of fraud going on out there. So it’s really, really sad how much money these people are spending.
Mando Rayo [00:10:26] What does that do to you, like, working with them firsthand? It must be tough.
Amanda Aguila [00:10:32] Oh yeah. It’s definitely tough. I feel emotional now even talking about it. It was last summer that they started detaining people at the San Antonio immigration court, which in San Antonio, we’re like very oddly positioned to where we have so many detention centers and a very quick drive. So it was kind of the epicenter of family detention. And so I watched so many families with so much dignity be detained, just trying to do the right thing. In. It was a tough summer for sure.
Mando Rayo [00:11:03] Yeah, and you know, even though we don’t see it every day in the news, it’s still happening.
Amanda Aguila [00:11:08] When you see what happened, like the big ice raids that happened in LA and of course, obviously Minnesota, but here in Texas, this is like silently happening every single day. So if someone gets pulled over in a traffic stop by a state trooper or DPS, they collaborate very closely with ICE and usually an ICE agent can arrive within minutes. And so families are getting arrested that way. Parents who had just dropped their kids off at school are getting arrested that way, very quietly, very methodically, and very efficiently on their part. And then there’s of course the ICE office where people go to do their check-ins. People who entered the country and were applying for asylum are required to go and do like a bi-yearly check-in to just keep their address up to date, things like that. And at those check-ins, people walk in and then they never walk out. And that could be families, children, adults with kids waiting at home. It’s happening just so much more than we even realize.
Mando Rayo [00:12:15] Yeah, yeah. Yeah, and I think it is happening quietly because we’re ingrained in this whole idea around not speaking up, you know, keeping a low profile, even people that are, you know, U.S. Citizens, and people are scared to go out.
Amanda Aguila [00:12:33] People are very scared to go out. I was doing like a phone bank for Telemundo and I was answering calls from people asking me immigration questions. And it was like people in their seventies who are lawful permanent residents scared to leave their house. Um, just because they’re like, I speak Spanish and the color of my skin. I could be targeted regardless of my legal status in the country. And that’s just really sad, especially for someone so much. Older, they should be at peace and with their family and feeling comfortable. They’ve worked so hard and for their whole lives and they deserve that. And my clients that are children who have been detained, um, for them, it can be really anxiety inducing to be in situations where they may see a law enforcement officer. So if you’re thinking about normal places, like the mall, right? There’s security guards everywhere. Someone who looks like an enforcement officer causes a lot of my kids a lot of stress. And so yeah, it’s, it’s hard for them to go out and it’s very scary for them.
Mando Rayo [00:13:42] Well thank you so much, I really appreciate you.
Amanda Aguila [00:13:44] Thank you.
Mando Rayo [00:13:53] What Amanda just told me about the Dilley Detention Center is devastating. Families with no access to clean water, worms in their food, children behind bars getting sick while their parents are unable to protect them. And the government calls this legal. Next stop, Dilley, Texas, a small town between San Antonio and Laredo in South Texas. With a population of almost 4,000 people and close to 75% Latino, they have around five to six Mexican restaurants and the site of the Dillee Immigration Detention Center, the only family detention center in the country. Our first interview in the area is at Crystal City, just outside Dillie. Here we meet an elder from the Japanese community. Dr. Satsuki Ina, an activist and co-founder of Suru for Solidarity. The elder Ina was born during the Second World War and spent her first years in prison camps across the U.S. Just like 120,000 other people of Japanese ancestry, Elder Ina and her family were ripped from their homes and locked away. Today, she’s here in Texas, and with good reason. It’s a very hot Texas day, but you’re here. Please introduce yourself and tell us why you’re here.
Satsuki Ina [00:15:21] My name is Satsuki Ina. I am a third generation Japanese American. I was a child prisoner in the Crystal City, Texas prison camp during World War II. My parents, my brother and I were brought here from other prison camps in the United States to be illegally deported to Japan. Illegal because my parents. We’re American citizens and my brother and I were born in the prison camp in America. And so we had birthright citizenship. I’m here today as part of our organization, Sudu for Solidarity, comprised mostly of Japanese Americans and allies. We’re outraged and angry about the repetition of our history. And our goal is to shut down ICE and all the inhumane detention facilities that are holding thousands of children and families today.
Mando Rayo [00:16:23] Can you talk about some of the memories that you’ve had when you were in basically concentration camp, right? Yes.
Satsuki Ina [00:16:30] It was a concentration camp for sure. We decided beyond just our own pilgrimage back to a site of shame where we had been imprisoned that we needed to show up to protest. So our plan was to have our pilgrimage at Crystal City and then go to Dili and hang Japanese paper cranes to honor the children and to let the families know that somebody outside cared. Mm-hmm we met with citizens of Crystal City, elders, who wanted to come and talk to us, and they told us stories about knowing that in their backyard there was a prison filled with Japanese people. And so one man told about his father who would come regularly and push tortillas through the fence.
Mando Rayo [00:17:25] How did that affect you as a child and just kind of growing up?
Satsuki Ina [00:17:29] Well, it was an incredible trauma because it wasn’t just a single incident that was overwhelming. It was a chronic state of trauma to be incarcerated indefinitely meant you didn’t know what was going to happen to you or where you were going to go. I grew up in a family that always was always fearful that at any moment. We could be on the wrong side and end up being incarcerated again. So there was lots of pressure to behave, to be good, to succeed, to belong as much as possible. And so my parents stopped speaking Japanese to us, encouraged us to toe the line, not cause any trouble. And so we had to give up a lot of our creativity, our adventurousness. To comply and keep ourselves safe, but also to keep our parents safe. Yeah, yeah.
Mando Rayo [00:18:30] And you know, we see that a lot today, this whole idea around not saying anything, keep your head down, don’t stir anything up, and the language too, right? We see that lot with Latinos, first generation, they’re like, you know what, don’s speak Spanish, you gotta assimilate, so it’s very similar. Yeah. Yeah.
Satsuki Ina [00:18:53] So food is one way that we don’t comply. So as guests, we’ve had visits to the church and they fixed food for us and we would have the chicken and the rice and beans. And for us, the activists, the organizers that are here, we made sure we had our miso soup, our seaweed snacks. It’s for both communities, it’s our soul food. And to exchange and share with each other was a deep meaning of solidarity.
Mando Rayo [00:19:36] Something that kind of gives us just warmth and comfort, it’s those things, it’s the rice and the beans, right?
Satsuki Ina [00:19:44] For us, it’s the rice in the seaweed. The seaweed? Ha ha ha ha!
Mando Rayo [00:19:49] I love that. I love. How do you feel we are, as a country, that we have to do that? We have to live in sanctuary. We’re repeating history.
Satsuki Ina [00:20:00] Pissed off.
Mando Rayo [00:20:01] Yeah, yeah!
Satsuki Ina [00:20:05] That’s what I tell people is that, you know, they’re asking us to share our stories, um, but I tell people, you know, we’re old and we’re mad. Uh, we are angry that this is a repetition of our history. Uh, We’re also feeling that it is our moral authority that we’re calling up because, uh, we were incarcerated as children unjustly. We were deprived of our civil rights, but also our human rights. And that’s why we want to stop what’s happening today. And we want stand up and speak out in ways that people didn’t do for us. When we were removed, America essentially had turned their backs on us. There was no outrage. There was marching or parades or petitions. Most people didn’t even know that this happening because the U.S. Government… Distorted the narrative, you know that we were in family detention centers. That’s what they’re calling them today These were prison camps. These were concentration camps People were killed in these camps people died from neglect and so we we feel like it’s really important to be part of the resistance
Mando Rayo [00:21:25] What do you want people to know here, the people that are living here, people that, I don’t know, maybe they’re desensitized to it, right? What would you like for them to know?
Satsuki Ina [00:21:37] I think people need to be reminded that these detention sites are horrific, the abuse that’s going on that we know of every day. People have to decide that they’re going to do something about it. And that could be being part of mass mobilization. It could be a part by writing to their legislator. But somehow showing up and taking a step towards something that’s horrific is often hard for people? But that’s what we’re calling on. You know, these walkers are suffering. It’s hot, it’s long, it’ hard, and yet they’re doing it, they’re committed to it. We want to let the people inside know they’re not alone, that they haven’t been forgotten, that we are going to fight for their freedom, and we’re gonna keep talking until we, us elders particularly, drop dead in our tracks because we know that young people will pick up the baton and carry on the fight.
Mando Rayo [00:22:44] After talking with Elder Ina, I decided to join the Free Families Pilgrimage to learn why people are making the trek. We’re here for the Free Families Pilgrimage. We joined them in close to Delhi. They started in Crystal City and they’ve been going for four days and what we’re trying to do is uncover, you know, some of the food conditions inside the detention centers and really in a sense, conflict food. What does that mean when you’re in a conflict zone? And it’s, you know, not in a war-torn country, but… Just a community just south of San Antonio. And so we’re here to learn from the coalition and what people need to know and what we can do about it.
Kristen Kumpf [00:23:35] We’re having the full Texas experience. I don’t even know how many miles in we are.
Mando Rayo [00:23:39] Lot of miles. And you started in Crystal City.
Kristen Kumpf [00:23:41] Yeah, so my name is Kristen Kumpf. I’m the coordinator of the Free Families National Coalition to End Family and Child Detention. And so the Free Family Coalition came together to shut down family detention and child detention. There were so many sites open during the first Trump era, but then family detention stopped under the Biden administration. And so it’s been really heartbreaking in the last year and a half to see them open again and in particular Dilley. Dilley as the main family detention facility, and we have seen hundreds of families pass through there including so many families from Texas
Bilal Eskariar [00:24:22] My name is Bilal Eskariar, I’m the director of communications at the Acacia Center for Justice. We’re part of the Free Families Coalition. I’m an immigrant. I was a naturalized U.S. Citizen. I came to the United States when I was five from Afghanistan and I think when I was a little kid and I came with my family we were welcomed. It wasn’t perfect but we were welcome and I’m able to walk through today the same kids that fled the same conditions that I did. Are being detained with their parents, and that’s why I’m walking. Yeah.
Mando Rayo [00:24:52] No, and I think it’s important to understand that this affects all of us. It doesn’t matter if you’re an immigrant or if you are a citizen. It’s really about the treatment of people inside, right?
Bilal Eskariar [00:25:06] Absolutely. If they can do it to people who are being invisibilized, they can do it too you later on. That’s right. It’s the famous World War II quote, first they came for the Jews and I didn’t say anything and then they came for me. What’s gonna happen if all of our due process rights are being eroded and people can just be put into detention without any kind of due process, right? Remember, not having a status is not a criminal charge. And now they’re being forced to live in this detention center without any due date of release. Yeah, yeah. Well, I’m glad we’re here. Yeah.
Mando Rayo [00:25:50] Well, you know, when I think about, like, kind of what you’re doing, this pilgrimage, it is very similar to the pilgrimages that immigrants take to come to improve their lives, right?
Kristen Kumpf [00:26:02] Yeah, I obviously have never gone through a migration journey like that, and I know so many people who have, you know, left their homes and literally walked thousands of miles. This is nothing. 40 miles is nothing, but I’ve walked thousands miles through the heat and deserts to reach family members and to reach the hope for a better life. So yeah, I don’t think I had really thought about that part of solidarity in terms of the actual walking and the pilgrimage and all the things that come with that.
Mando Rayo [00:26:29] Yeah yeah we do you know we hear all the stories whether they come through texas borders arizona yeah the desert really right for me what it kind of brings to mind is you know the struggle of having to leave everything behind and come to a country yeah and try to make it
Kristen Kumpf [00:26:47] Absolutely and even the like the little things that are there are actually big things like water Like, you know making sure that we have enough water and being out here and and thinking about all the migrants who don’t have access to water Sometimes for hours or days and and food right like you know, it’s amazing You know, we can read so many of the miles that we’ve walked. There’s been nothing not a gas station. Not a taqueria Yeah, not a grocery store Like what what does it mean to live out here to be out here so far from from good food and good water
Marina Vasquez [00:27:20] My name’s Marina Vasquez, I’m from Austin, Texas, originally from the Rio Grande Valley. I’m here with Texas Unitarian University’s Justice Ministry. I’m also on the medical team, I am an RN, retired RN.
Mando Rayo [00:27:33] And you’re here for the pilgrimage, what brings you out here?
Marina Vasquez [00:27:37] Mi familia, mi raza Lati na, and in honor of the elders that are here walking with us. They bring so much dignity.
Mando Rayo [00:27:48] And you have somebody that you know that’s been detained as well.
Marina Vasquez [00:27:51] Yes, I have a friend, Karina, and she’s going on 16 months being detained. So I walk for her, and I hope that that transcends to other families in there to know that we keep fighting to get them free, especially the children, especially them.
Mando Rayo [00:28:13] What are some of the stories that you’ve heard from your friends?
Marina Vasquez [00:28:16] That it’s horrible, the food is bad, job assignments, getting paid a dollar. And the uplifting that they feel when they know that others are praying for them, that others send them birthday cards, and that the country misses. And that we make a change in our government somehow.
Mando Rayo [00:28:41] Thank you. Thank you for sharing.
Sarah Asch [00:28:42] We remember your dignity.
Mando Rayo [00:28:50] We are close to the Dilly Detention Center entrance. We stopped and they’re taking some time to let the elders out that were unable to walk the full pilgrimage and we’re waiting for the start of the ceremony.
Elder [00:29:13] Eighty-four years ago, I was two weeks old when my family was incarcerated because of that trauma that I suffered that has with me my entire life. I’m here to help those, especially the children, whose lives are being affected as we speak. May all beings be happy and well. May no harm or difficulty come to them. May they live in peace and harmony. May I be happy and well, may no harm or difficulty come to them, may they live in peace and harmony.
Satsuki Ina [00:29:52] What’s happening today is a repetition of American history over and over and over again. We might be old, we might be here with our canes and our hearing aids and our walkers and our dentures, but we’re mad. Do not waste another minute. Do something now.
Sarah Asch [00:30:16] Yay! Thank you. I sing from here, and you sing from there. I sing form here, and you from there Together we’ll sing down the walls everywhere. Together we sing down the walls every where. Laganto akai dukan balsaya Yo canto acá y tú cantas allá Juntos dos muros vamos
Mando Rayo [00:30:57] Now we’re heading into town to try to talk to some of the restaurant workers to understand how the detention center impacts their everyday life.
Zoraida Ramirez [00:31:06] My name is Zoraida Ramirez, we’re in Dilley a mi cabana, Mexican restaurant.
Mando Rayo [00:31:11] What kind of customers come in and out on a typical day?
Zoraida Ramirez [00:31:14] It’s usually just local, we get some people from other towns, I guess they come to visit family at the detention center. We know everybody that comes in here, we’ve been here for almost six years. We know our customers, we know the people that live here, so when we see somebody different we know. We know they’re not from here.
Mando Rayo [00:31:32] Yeah, yeah. And like the people that you can tell that are visiting the Dilley Center, do they seem like stressed out and how do they look? Do they look worried or anything like that?
Zoraida Ramirez [00:31:43] Like last week we had a Cuban family in here and they were eating and then there was a girl, a young girl, they were waiting for her to come out and they picked her up, they brought her here to eat, they we’re hugging, crying, kissing, you know. It was pretty emotional, yeah. Yeah. So we know she came from there so and we have families, you know, that come and they meet their family here. Yeah
Mando Rayo [00:32:05] Yeah, and you know, for them to come and share a meal after some of that trauma, you can tell.
Zoraida Ramirez [00:32:13] Yes, oh, yeah
Mando Rayo [00:32:14] How does that make you feel that you’re able to serve them food?
Zoraida Ramirez [00:32:18] Oh, it makes me feel great. We treat them very kindly, so they feel welcome. They’re already going through so much, I think, so we try to give them the best service we can.
Mando Rayo [00:32:27] Yeah and what about like on the other side like when you have like maybe uh border patrol or ice agent?
Zoraida Ramirez [00:32:33] Oh yeah, we have border patrols in here. Yeah, they come like twice a week in the mornings for breakfast. Yeah Yeah, pretty friendly with us. Yeah They’re pretty friendly.
Mando Rayo [00:32:41] Oh yeah. Do, does anybody like, you know, like sometimes we have like in restaurants that whether you look Latino or you don’t speak English, does that make them nervous?
Zoraida Ramirez [00:32:52] No. Okay. And they usually they come in here and they there’s about like six or eight of them that would that come at once and they just they stay to themselves they don’t look around or anything. Yeah. Yeah
Mando Rayo [00:33:05] when you see like a lot of families coming here and you might see them and they might look stressed.
Zoraida Ramirez [00:33:11] Oh yeah, uh-huh. They’re talking about it or they have like papers, they’re telling about I guess a family member they have at the detention center.
Mando Rayo [00:33:22] And what do you do to kind of make them feel more comfortable?
Zoraida Ramirez [00:33:24] Just be nice to them, you know, give them time, give him space.
Mando Rayo [00:33:28] Guess what kind of impact does it have when you have a detention center so close to your town?
Zoraida Ramirez [00:33:36] Honestly, nobody really talks about it or stuff. It’s just, it’s just there, honestly. It’s there. We feel pretty, we all feel pretty safe here, you know? I think last week, they picked up somebody that works at another restaurant here, and we’re like, oh my God, you now? We feel, you no, sad about it, you not? I don’t know what happened, but other than that, no, like nobody really brings it up, honestly, you don’t. You just kind of keep on living your life. Yeah, uh-huh. Just the stuff we see on the news that’s going on, but.
Mando Rayo [00:34:09] Okay. So it seems like more people talk about it outside of Dili than here, than the locals. Honestly, yes. Okay. Well, thank you for your time. Thank you. No, you’re welcome. We’re super appreciative of Sorayda being open to talking to us, but while looking for people to interview, we found that most people weren’t as open to discuss the family detention center being in their town. Okay, so we’re in Dilley, Texas, and we’ve been trying to connect with people, restaurant workers, and owners of Mexican restaurants. Some are open, some are not so open. I talked to somebody that didn’t wanna disclose their name or their restaurant, but they mentioned that people do come in, they can tell when they’re visiting, and sometimes they come in happy, and sometimes, they come into crying. What they mentioned was like, we’re just here to offer the food. One of the reasons why they are hesitant to do interviews is because one of the employees talked to a news media and they were worried that they’re gonna get blacklisted and lose a lot of business because you have so much business coming from these detention centers. And they have to provide not only for themselves as business owners, but for their employees and their families. So it’s kind of of this predicament around focusing as business as usual, but business as usually means staying quiet about some of the things that they’re seeing. We met up with Guadalupe Sariñana, whose father had been released from detention not too long ago. She testified at the vigil in Dili, and she had a strong message to share with us.
Guadalupe Sarenana [00:36:05] My name is Guadalupe Sarenana. I am the daughter of the father that was detained for 77 days. I just got released on June 1st, and we’re here at Dili right now.
Mando Rayo [00:36:14] Yeah, how are you feeling right now?
Guadalupe Sarenana [00:36:16] Uh, a lot of PTSD, um, I, with Tino’s 77 days, I would always advocate for him. I would go to every rally, every protest, everything I could to get his name out there and get his story out there. Um, honestly, it doesn’t really go away.
Sarah Asch [00:36:29] Yeah.
Guadalupe Sarenana [00:36:30] But basically when we found out I felt like no, we had no hope just because of the fact that like we already know people are getting deported without like due process and stuff like that. So it just felt like very overwhelming and then more because like he wasn’t eating and stuff like that and it was like it was just a lot. It was very overwhelming.
Mando Rayo [00:36:47] Like, what access to food did he have?
Guadalupe Sarenana [00:36:50] So I know every Wednesdays they had chicken, but the chicken it looked like it was like something that H-E-B or Walmart throws away when they can sell it. So they keep it there. Honestly, that’s really the only good thing they have in there that’s edible. Other than that, it looks like dog food and it has worms, maggots, all that type of stuff in their food. Sometimes when they have visitation, they’re supposed to save their plates and they don’t. So they have to wait till the next day to eat.
Mando Rayo [00:37:14] And so how do you feel knowing that your father was in a detention center your home and you were able to eat?
Guadalupe Sarenana [00:37:21] Honestly, I felt sick to my stomach like the food didn’t taste the same just looking at the empty seat at our dinner table It was just hard to like know that we could eat whatever we wanted and he couldn’t Like literally the only probably good food he had is probably like the vending machine when we go visit him get him chips Cookies and like soda which is obviously not nutritional But it was something that it was just like we were like he was waiting till that day for him to eat something good
Mando Rayo [00:37:45] Mm-hmm
Guadalupe Sarenana [00:37:45] Um, so honestly, it doesn’t didn’t feel right to eat without him
Mando Rayo [00:37:48] Yeah, yeah, so he was recently released
Guadalupe Sarenana [00:37:50] Yes, on June 1st.
Mando Rayo [00:37:52] And how did that feel?
Guadalupe Sarenana [00:37:54] That was amazing because of the fact that they trick a lot of people in there to sign their self-deportation papers. They’re like, oh, we’re going to pay you this if you get deported now. If not, I’m going to take away your visitation hours, your visitations rights, and stuff like that. It just felt good to know that he beat the odds.
Mando Rayo [00:38:09] Yeah, and what gives you hope?
Guadalupe Sarenana [00:38:13] That people that give stories like this and actually went through it see that advocacy does work. You just got to find the right people, collab with the right people, show up to protests, organizers, rallies. Just never shut up about the situation until somebody has no choice but to listen to you. They don’t want us to speak up. The silence is what thrives on this right now. So you have to think that your anger is bigger than your fear honestly.
Mando Rayo [00:38:34] Yeah, yeah.
Guadalupe Sarenana [00:38:35] Never stop advocating for your loved one. If you feel like something’s wrong, call the center. Raise hell, get your congressman involved, do whatever you can because unfortunately, those people that are supposed to take care of them in there, like the guards, everybody in there. They’re just torturing them.
Mando Rayo [00:38:54] What happens to food when you’re in a conflict zone? And I’m not talking about a war-torn country. I’m talking about the United States of America right here in our backyard in Texas. And the idea around conflict foods is what happens to it when there’s stress around it, whether it’s family separations, people being held in detention, people going and trying to get food and how they feel. When they’re missing a family member. And it’s well like the conditions of the food for people that are being held in a detention center. In this episode, we talked to a lot of the organizers, volunteers, and families that have been impacted by ice raids and the Dilley Detention Center. And we see how history is repeating itself. We joined the Free Families Pilgrimage. And we talked to elders around their experience in a detention center. We think it’s so far away, the Japanese internment camps, but now families are being detained right here in Dilley, Texas. So we talked a lot of people about what they’re trying to do, how to get the word out, how we as citizens, we as individuals, as residents here in the United States and Texas can do something about it. For me, it’s just has brought up a lot video. Emotions around food and identity and as well as like, you know, coming into the town where, you have locals that they just don’t want to cause problems or cause a burden to their businesses. I feel like they’re holding back from saying anything because this detention center is part of the local economy, right? You see all those things interconnecting and intertwined. So it’s definitely complicated, but you know what we wanted to do. With this episode is see how food plays a role in that, as well as like the systems in place that we’re dealing with, not 50 years ago or 60 years ago, but today in 2026. We’d like to thank the people and organizations that participated and contributed to this episode. Amanda Aguilar, Kristen Kump, Bilal Oskariar, Marina Vasquez, Alexa Gelbard, Elder Satsuki Ina, Pastor Diane Garcia, Skyla Tomanei, Marie Reza, Sorayda from The Restaurant, Guadalupe Sariñana, And organizations include American Gateways, Free Families, National Coalition to End Family and Child Detention, Suru for Solidarity, Acacia Center for Justice, and Grassroots Leadership. Of course, we always like to end our episode with shout-outs. This one is what you can do. How can some of our listeners keep themselves safe, have a plan, know your rights? Have a legal service provider, and put a family plan together. And how can people support and help immigrants? Be there for your neighbor and restaurant workers. Donate to organizations that are doing the work like American Gateways, Friesis, Texas Civil Rights Project, or Each Step Home, which adds funds to families that help with clean water or phone calls to lawyers and loved ones. This has been the Tacos of Texas podcast developed and produced by Identity Productions. If you enjoyed today’s episode and are craving more taco content, go to our website at www.identity.productions or follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube at Identity Productions and United Tacos of America. This is your host, Mando el Taco Journalist, Rayo. Vamos a los tacos! In the next Proximo, Tacos of Texas, Austin taco history, how Mexican and Tejano communities shaped Austin’s food scene and their fight to keep it alive.
Louisa Van Assche [00:43:28] The Tacos of Texas podcast is presented by Identity Productions in partnership with KUT and KUTx Studios. Our host and producer is Mando, El Taco journalist, Rayo. Our audio is mixed by Nicholas Worden. Our video production is taken care of by Dennis Burnett. Our wonderful interns are Quetzal and Diego Rayo, and our story and line producer is me, Luisa Min Van Asse. Music was created by Peligrosa in Austin, Texas. And King Benny Productions located in the Quinto Barrio of Houston. Special thanks to Grassroots Leadership, Acacia Center for Justice, Free Families, Tsuru for Solidarity, and Amanda Aguilar from American Gateways for their invaluable support on this episode.
This transcript was transcribed by AI, and lightly edited by a human. Accuracy may vary. This text may be revised in the future.
