WATCH: Texas troopers, protesters clash outside ICE detention facility

DILLEY, Texas - Texas Department of Public Safety troopers fired pepper balls into a crowd of protesters outside an ICE detention facility Wednesday where a 5-year-old boy from the Minneapolis area is being held.

Protesters clash with DPS outside of ICE facility

What we know:

Protesters descended on the South Texas Family Residential Center where 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father are being held after being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement last week after arriving home from school.

Troopers arrived at the facility in Dilley, Texas, on a Dilley Independent School District bus and were dressed in riot gear.

DPS said they responded at the request of the city of Dilley because of the "planned and publicized protest."

Photos and video from outside the facility showed troopers pushing back protesters and deploying pepper balls into the crowd.

What they're saying:

In a statement, DPS said two people were arrested during Wednesday's protest on charges, including resisting arrest and interfering with public duties.

"During yesterday’s response, after dispersal orders were given, approximately 150 demonstrators refused to leave and began to breach the established protest barrier and spit on officers," DPS spokesperson Sheridan Nolen said. "Despite continued orders to disperse, the group remained and DPS took less-lethal action, deploying pepper ball grenades and pepper ball projectiles to ensure officer safety and maintain order."

The backstory:

The protest comes after District Court Judge Fred Biery stayed any removal or transfer of Conejo Ramos and his father until the court process plays out. 

However, the order will also keep the father and son in the Western District of Texas during the court proceedings.

The family's attorney said the family is in the country legally as they pursue a claim for asylum. The attorney said they have shown up for their court hearings and posed no safety threat. The attorney said they were being held for civil immigration violations. The attorney claimed that during the arrest, ICE agents then tried to use the child as "bait," walking him up to the family's front door and having him knock on the door, asking to be let in.

The Department of Homeland Security has repeatedly and voraciously disputed this allegation, claiming instead that Ramos had been abandoned by his father, who tried to run away from agents. DHS said ICE officers tried to return the boy to his mother's custody but claimed she refused to take the child. Ultimately, DHS said the father agreed to allow the child to remain with him in custody. DHS also claimed ICE agents cared for the boy during the operation.

Texas Democrats visit Dilley ICE facility

Wednesday night, a rally was held in San Anotonio calling for the release of Conejo Ramos and his father.

U.S. Reps. Joaquin Castro and Jasmine Crockett visited the facility Wednesday where Castro met with Conejo Ramos and his father.

What they're saying:

"Just visited with Liam and his father at Dilley detention center," Castro said on X "I demanded his release and told him how much his family, his school, and our country loves him and is praying for him."

At Wednesday night's rally, Castro shared his growing concern for Liam's wellbeing. 

"I’m worried because the entire time we were with him, he was asleep. His dad says he’s been sleeping most of the day because he’s been depressed, that he’s not eating well, that he misses his mom and his classmates and his school," Castro said.