Two brothers who play in a mariachi band that visited Congress last year have been detained by federal agents, along with other members of their family, in Texas.
Lawmakers from both parties criticized the move by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to hold Antonio and Joshua Gámez-Cuéllar over the weekend, with Republican Representative Monica de la Cruz saying Monday that she was doing “everything in my power” to resolve the issue.
Fellow Texas Representative Joaquin Castro, a Democrat, said he met the brothers when they visited the House of Representatives last year.
“The entire Gámez-Cuéllar family did everything the right way. The applied for and were granted asylum. They attended every court date and immigration check-in,” Castro said on X. “ICE detained them anyway, sending the two youngest boys and their parents to the Dilley trailer prison. The oldest, 18-year old Antonio, was sent to an adult facility. ICE is ripping apart families.”
The father, Luiz Antonio Martinez, told The New York Times last week that the family had entered the United States claiming asylum, after facing cartel violence in Mexico, and that they had shown up for regular immigration check-ins.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told Newsweek that the family had entered the U.S. illegally during the Biden administration in 2023, and that those who have done so should be detained while their cases are pending.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
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