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THAT WAS TOUGH. I MEAN, IT WAS VERY HEARTBREAKING. AN ATTORNEY FOR ARLETE MARTINEZ, CAVADA, SADLY DESCRIBES THE MOMENT SHE WENT TO THE U.S. CUSTOMS AND IMMIGRATION HOLDING FACILITY INSIDE THE FALLON FEDERAL BUILDING AND HAD TO BREAK SOME TERRIBLE NEWS. HER CLIENT’S 15 YEAR OLD SON, KEVIN MENDOZA MARTINEZ, DIED. THE BOY SUFFERED FROM CANCER. ATTORNEY SARAH MAJKA TOLD US HIS HEALTH DECLINED SHORTLY AFTER MARTINEZ WAS DETAINED. THE MOTHER DIDN’T GET TO SAY GOODBYE AND WE WERE IN THE VISITOR’S ROOM WHERE WE WERE SEPARATED BY PLEXIGLASS SO I COULDN’T TOUCH HER. I COULDN’T REACH OUT TO HER. I MEAN, I COULDN’T CONSOLE HER. THE ONLY WAY I COULD DO THE ONLY THING I COULD DO WAS TO TOUCH THE PLASTIC GLASS, WHICH SHE TOUCHED WHEN SHE HAD BROKEN DOWN. WERE SCREAMING AND CRYING. NOW MARTINEZ HAS DECIDED TO SELF-DEPORT. THIS IS NOT A WOMAN WHO IS A CRIMINAL. THIS IS A WOMAN WHO HAS PAID TAXES. THIS IS A WOMAN WHO HAS HAD FOUR U.S. CITIZEN CHILDREN. AND IT’S JUST REALLY A TRAVESTY THAT WE’RE AT THIS POINT. CAROLINA CURBELO IS ANOTHER ATTORNEY WHO JOINED THE CASE AFTER MARTINEZ WAS TRANSFERRED FROM BALTIMORE TO AN IMMIGRATION DETENTION CENTER IN NEW JERSEY. SHE WAS RELEASED ON $12,000 BOND. SHE GOT OUT IN ENOUGH TIME TO ATTEND HER SON’S FUNERAL. SHE HAS BEEN THROUGH A TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCE AND DOES NOT WANT TO STAY HERE. BASED ON ALL THAT SHE HAS GONE THROUGH AND SHE FEELS LIKE SHE’S IN A BETTER POSITION TO HEAL FOR HER TO LEAVE RATHER THAN PURSUE ANY OTHER FORM OF RELIEF. WE CONTACTED THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY. THEY SAY MARTINEZ ENTERED THE COUNTRY ILLEGALLY FOUR TIMES. DHS ALSO MENTIONED ITS SELF-DEPORTATION PROGRAM, OFFERING $2,600 AND A FREE FLIGHT FOR THOSE WILLING TO SELF-DEPORT. SO FAR, THERE IS NO DATE FOR SELF-DEPORTATION. HER ATTORNEYS SAY NOW THEY ARE WORKING ON THAT PROCESS WITH HER. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY HAS TO FILE WHAT IS CALLED A CHARGING DOCUMENT, A NOTICE TO APPEAR THAT HAS NOT BEEN FILED YET. HER ATTORNEYS SAY. FOR NOW, MARTINEZ REMAINS IN MARYLAND, WAITING FOR DHS TO
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The detention by U.S. immigration authorities of two teen brothers who were prominent members of a nationally recognized mariachi band in South Texas has triggered bipartisan criticism that the Trump administration’s campaign for mass deportation has overreached.Brothers Antonio Gámez-Cuéllar, 18, and Joshua, 14, were detained along with their 12-year-old brother and their parents Feb. 25, according to a relative and a girlfriend who organized a GoFundMe account for the family. The family had been checking in regularly with immigration authorities, as instructed, when they were detained, the relative and girlfriend said.The teenage boys were prominent members of the McAllen High School Mariachi Oro band, which has visited the White House, performed at Carnegie Hall and won eight state championships.Antonio was released Monday afternoon. Neither he nor his attorneys commented to reporters as they left a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Raymondville, Texas.The other four family members were released from a separate detention center for families in Dilley, Texas, said U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, a Texas Democrat who visited them at the center near San Antonio on Monday.Castro had visited the facility before when he advocated for the release of a 5-year-old from Minnesota, Liam Conejo Ramos, and his Ecuadorian father.In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said ICE had detained the parents, Emma Guadalupe Cuellar Lopez and Luis Antonio Gamez Martinez, and that they chose to bring their children with them. The family illegally entered the U.S. in 2023 near Brownsville, Texas, the spokesperson said, adding that the law requires them to be in custody while their asylum claims are heard.”Unlike the previous administration, the Trump administration is not going to ignore the rule of law,” the statement said, noting that adult males without children — specifically, Antonio — are not detained at Dilley “for the safety of the children inside the facility.”While the family may have entered the country illegally, it is legal for them to seek asylum.Elected officials from across the political spectrum voiced support for the family, who are from Mexico and had sought asylum in the U.S. and were going through their immigration proceedings.”I challenge my colleagues to work together for new enforcement policies that not only secure our border but make safer communities and that ultimately are common sense. These two things do not have to be in contradiction,” Rep. Monica de la Cruz, a Republican congresswoman representing McAllen, said after Antonio’s release.McAllen’s Republican mayor, Javier Villalobos, said he supported the family and said he continues to advocate for “responsible pathways for law abiding individuals who want to contribute to our economy, support their families, and become productive neighbors in McAllen.”U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat, a New York Democrat and chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, called the family’s detention “outrageous.”The boys’ mariachi directors visited the family held in Dilley earlier Monday. Alex Treviño, the mariachi director and Neri Fuentes, the assistant director, said the kids were concerned about losing their playing abilities.”They were worried that their fingers weren’t going to work, because they don’t have instruments,” Treviño said.Antonio, who had been held apart from the family due to his age, recently won the first chair for trumpet in a state competition.”This year he’s going to be graduating from high school and going to college and joining some other groups in college. He wants to be a music educator,” Fuentes explained.
The detention by U.S. immigration authorities of two teen brothers who were prominent members of a nationally recognized mariachi band in South Texas has triggered bipartisan criticism that the Trump administration’s campaign for mass deportation has overreached.
Brothers Antonio Gámez-Cuéllar, 18, and Joshua, 14, were detained along with their 12-year-old brother and their parents Feb. 25, according to a relative and a girlfriend who organized a GoFundMe account for the family. The family had been checking in regularly with immigration authorities, as instructed, when they were detained, the relative and girlfriend said.
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The teenage boys were prominent members of the McAllen High School Mariachi Oro band, which has visited the White House, performed at Carnegie Hall and won eight state championships.
Antonio was released Monday afternoon. Neither he nor his attorneys commented to reporters as they left a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Raymondville, Texas.
The other four family members were released from a separate detention center for families in Dilley, Texas, said U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, a Texas Democrat who visited them at the center near San Antonio on Monday.
Castro had visited the facility before when he advocated for the release of a 5-year-old from Minnesota, Liam Conejo Ramos, and his Ecuadorian father.
In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said ICE had detained the parents, Emma Guadalupe Cuellar Lopez and Luis Antonio Gamez Martinez, and that they chose to bring their children with them. The family illegally entered the U.S. in 2023 near Brownsville, Texas, the spokesperson said, adding that the law requires them to be in custody while their asylum claims are heard.
“Unlike the previous administration, the Trump administration is not going to ignore the rule of law,” the statement said, noting that adult males without children — specifically, Antonio — are not detained at Dilley “for the safety of the children inside the facility.”
While the family may have entered the country illegally, it is legal for them to seek asylum.
Elected officials from across the political spectrum voiced support for the family, who are from Mexico and had sought asylum in the U.S. and were going through their immigration proceedings.
“I challenge my colleagues to work together for new enforcement policies that not only secure our border but make safer communities and that ultimately are common sense. These two things do not have to be in contradiction,” Rep. Monica de la Cruz, a Republican congresswoman representing McAllen, said after Antonio’s release.
McAllen’s Republican mayor, Javier Villalobos, said he supported the family and said he continues to advocate for “responsible pathways for law abiding individuals who want to contribute to our economy, support their families, and become productive neighbors in McAllen.”
U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat, a New York Democrat and chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, called the family’s detention “outrageous.”
The boys’ mariachi directors visited the family held in Dilley earlier Monday. Alex Treviño, the mariachi director and Neri Fuentes, the assistant director, said the kids were concerned about losing their playing abilities.
“They were worried that their fingers weren’t going to work, because they don’t have instruments,” Treviño said.
Antonio, who had been held apart from the family due to his age, recently won the first chair for trumpet in a state competition.
“This year he’s going to be graduating from high school and going to college and joining some other groups in college. He wants to be a music educator,” Fuentes explained.
