Celebrities such as Madonna, Pedro Pascal, Mark Ruffalo, Keke Palmer, and more have signed on to add their names to the list of those calling for the immediate closure of a Texas family detention center.
The petition can be accessed online at Change.org and is titled “Close Dilley ICE Detention Center: Protect Children.” It is a petition to approve the closure of the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, a family detention center accused of having poor living conditions for adults and children. The letter states:
“No child should be locked in an immigration detention center. We, the undersigned, call for the immediate closure of the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) family detention center in Texas and an end to the detention of children and families. Children held in immigration detention endure trauma, neglect and conditions that violate basic standards of health, safety, dignity and human rights.”
Aside from Pedro Pacal and Madonna, other public figures who signed this petition include Kesha, Brandi Carlile, Gracie Abrams, Lance Bass, Ben Stiller, Eva Longoria, Abby Wambach, etc.
The petition continues, citing that there are existing legal documents mentioning child abuse and there are no clean provisions for the children and adults in detention.
“The harms of detaining children are known and well-documented. Court filings of abuse against children have included refusals to provide clean water, rotten food contaminated with worms, dangerous medical neglect, sleep deprivation, denial of legal counsel, the separation of children from their families, and retaliation against families protesting the inhumane conditions. Children belong in schools and on playgrounds, not in detention centers.”
The letter goes on:
“We urge the federal government and CoreCivic to close the Dilley facility immediately, return children and families to the homes and communities they were taken from, and to end child imprisonment now. Our commitment does not end with closure. We demand transparency, accountability, and systemic reforms to prevent these abuses from happening anywhere in the United States.”
Pedro Pascal on the administration’s immigration policies: “I want people to be safe and to be protected”
Meanwhile, this is not the first time Pedro Pascal discussed his qualms about the immigration policies under President Donald Trump’s administration.
At the Cannes Film Festival 2025, Pedro Pacal said:
“I want people to be safe and to be protected. I want to live on the right side of history. I am an immigrant. My parents are refugees from Chile. We fled a dictatorship, and I was privileged enough to grow up in the United States after asylum in Denmark.”
Pedro Pascal, who was promoting his movie Eddington at the time, added:
“If it weren’t for that, I don’t know what would have happened to us. I stand by those protections always.”
Another post by Pedro Pascal in February 2026 included a picture of a child’s letter to ICE, in which the child asked immigration agents to “be kind, helpful, and caring, not dangerous, scary, and stealing people.” The video accompanying the post explained that people are “getting really sad” because they are being taken away.
Not only has Pedro Pascal been a voice for immigrants, but Madonna has also been one for a very long time. She made a powerful statement in November 2015 following the terrorist attacks in Paris.
The Queen of Pop took to her Instagram and wrote that all people are immigrants who:
“bleed the same color. We are all ONE. Pray For Peace! In Paris and all around the World.”
Edited by Gladys Altamarino