Texas Lawmakers Question ICE Detention of Teen Mariachi Musicians and Parents: 'They Did Everything the Right Way'

Texas lawmakers from both parties are questioning Immigration and Customs Enforcement's detention of two teenage mariachi musicians and their family after the brothers were honored on Capitol Hill last year, with one congressman saying the family "did everything the right way."

The case centers on Antonio Yesayahu Gámez-Cuéllar, 18, and Caleb Gámez-Cuéllar, 14, who traveled to Washington last summer with their high school ensemble, Mariachi Oro of McAllen High School, after winning a state mariachi competition.

Their congresswoman, Rep. Monica De La Cruz, a Republican, recognized the group on the House floor, told the students at the time that their community was proud of their "hard work, your talent and your dedication."

Late last month, ICE detained the brothers, their parents, Luis Antonio Martínez and Emma Guadalupe Cuéllar, and their younger brother, Joshua, 12. Rep. Joaquin Castro, a Texas Democrat, said over the weekend that the parents and the two youngest boys were being held at a family detention center in Dilley, Texas, while Antonio, who recently turned 18, was transferred to a separate adult facility in Raymondville.

"The entire Gámez-Cuéllar family did everything the right way," Castro said through a post on X. "They applied for and were granted asylum. They attended every court date and immigration check-in. ICE detained them anyway."

De La Cruz also criticized the detention through a statement on Facebook saying the family's story "breaks my heart" and adding that "South Texans know better than anyone that we can secure our border and still treat people with dignity – these are not competing values."

She said she had urged that enforcement focus on people who threaten communities, "not good, law-abiding, talented people who are working through the legal process."

According to a New York Times interview with the family's father last week, the family entered the United States in 2023 through Brownsville on an asylum claim after fleeing threats in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, where he said he had been kidnapped by cartel members.

The family settled in McAllen and attended required immigration court dates and ICE check-ins. Martínez said they were told in January to return in June, but later received a call instructing them to report on February 25, when they were detained.

In a statement Monday, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said ICE detained the parents because they were in the country illegally and said they "chose to bring their adult son and two children with them." The spokesperson added: "ICE does not separate families."