The McAllen family whose detainment by federal immigration enforcement sparked bipartisan outcry over the weekend was released Monday afternoon, according to Texas congressional representatives who were taking action in the case.

The push was a bipartisan one. Democratic U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro said on social media four members of the Gámez-Cuéllar family, including 12-year-old Joshua and 14-year-old Caleb, were released from a detention facility in Dilley. Shortly after, Republican U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz said their older brother, 18-year-old Antonio, was also "going home."

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said the family had been in custody since Feb. 25 after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested the parents; the department said they "chose to bring their adult son and two children with them."

DHS, emphasizing that "ICE does not separate families," said the Gámez-Cuéllar family illegally entered the country in 2023. Organizers of a GoFundMe that was set up to help the family with legal expenses claimed differently, saying they were navigating the asylum process as required.

Democratic Congressman Vincente Gonzalez, who represents a portion of South Texas, also said the family had "complied with the law, yet were still detained" by ICE.

Castro shared photos of the release of Joshua and Caleb, along with their parents, on Monday afternoon.

Antonio and Caleb are members of Mariachi Oro, the McAllen High School group that has won the state championship in mariachi eight times and was the focus of a 2024 Netflix documentary. Their detainments came months after performing in front of Congress at the U.S. Capitol last summer. 

"These were upstanding folks who were following the law," Castro said in his video update posted to Facebook. "At the invitation at the congressman, those young men performed their mariachi music at the U.S. Capitol. And now they’ve been sitting here at this trailer prison and we’re waiting for them to be released so that we can help them get home.”

'Shut down Dilley'

Dilley is located about 70 miles southwest of San Antonio. It's in Congressional District 23, represented by Republican U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, but Castro has now made multiple visits to the detention facility there this year while criticizing the federal government's detention of children and others who he says don't have a criminal history.

Speaking with other House Democrats who visited the facility on Monday, Castro repeatedly referred to it as a "trailer prison" and said there were about 450 people detained there--about 650 fewer, he said, than when he visited in late January.

“I believe the public outcry is making a difference," the San Antonio congressman said. "My goal is to shut down Dilley. I don’t think anyone should be held at that trailer prison, especially children.”

Castro said he met a young boy around the age of 4 or 5 who hadn't had a bowel movement in over a week. The group also met with three pregnant women, he said, including a 19-year-old who last went to the doctor three weeks ago.

“The families I spoke to this morning, I would say, are overwhelmingly in despair," said U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, who is also the House minority whip.

U.S. Rep. Sara Jacobs of California said she was "heartbroken" that it takes "a compelling story and members of Congress to take an interest in you... to even have a chance of getting out." She went on to say the U.S. government was traumatizing children and families at the Dilley facility.

San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones, joining the congressional delegation at City Hall, said the city still had not received specifics about how ICE intends to use a 640,000-square-foot facility on the east side purchased by the federal government. City Council last week voted to direct city staff to explore potential zoning changes that could prevent detention centers from operating locally.

“To think that that is happening already and to think that could happen in our community should raise serious concerns about the lack of transparency and what could take place in our city," Jones said on Monday.

Castro said he has invited congressional Republicans to accompany him to visit Texas detention facilities, but added they "have not gotten any takers." Asked about the Ruben Ray Martinez case centered on a young San Antonio man shot and killed by an ICE agent on South Padre Island last year, the congressman said Congress "should take a look" at it.

Meanwhile, McAllen ISD said the district was planning to welcome the Gámez-Cuéllar family back with an evening rally Monday at the high school.

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Original article HERE.