'Leave RGV families alone': Protesters demand release of McAllen mariachi family from ICE custody

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Around 80 people stood outside the El Valle Detention Facility in Raymondville on Sunday and shouted as loud as they could, hoping Antonio Gámez-Cuéllar, an 18-year-old McAllen High School student and decorated mariachi musician, would hear them and know he wasn’t alone.

Antonio was on the other side of the gate where the crowd of supporters protested his detainment at the facility, where he is being held apart from his family, who are 224 miles northwest of him at an immigration detention center in Dilley.

“This is inhumane. He’s a child. He’s 18 years old,” Laura Castillo, 38, of Harlingen said at Sunday’s protest. “He should be getting ready for school tomorrow. They said criminals (would be targeted by ICE). This is not a criminal. These people followed the rules.”

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She assigned blame to President Donald Trump for his hardline immigration policies and deportation raids “allowing people to feel comfortable with their hatred.”

A trumpet player for the eight-time champion McAllen High Mariachi Oro, Antonio is one of three school-age siblings from a family of five, all of whom were detained on Feb. 23 after being summoned to a local Immigration and Customs Enforcement office.

His brothers, Caleb, 14, and Joshua, 12, are also involved in McAllen ISD mariachi programs. They’re being held with their parents Emma Guadalupe Cuéllar Lopez and Luis Antonio Gámez Martinez at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Dilley.

The family, who in 2023 successfully requested asylum in the U.S. using the CBP One app, were told at the local ICE office that they were being detained at separate facilities despite them abiding by the legal process for residency, according to local officials and people close to the family.

That revelation came this weekend after news of the family’s detainment accompanied ** a GoFundMe page** that raised awareness and funds to help with their court costs and any living expenses, which have gone unmanaged since their detainment.

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As of Sunday afternoon, that page — organized by Antonio’s girlfriend Ezra Cavazos and cousin Denise Robles — surpassed the $8,000 goal with more than $24,000 raised.

For Roy Green, 65, of Rancho Viejo, standing outside the facility in Raymondville on Sunday seemed like the right thing to do.

“I’ve actually been protesting. This is probably my 10th or 12th,” Green said, adding that each time he picks up the newspaper or turns on the TV, people’s constitutional rights are being violated or “treated like garbage.”

“If people don’t stand up for what’s right it’s going to get worse. And it’s really hard to believe almost anything our current administration says,” he continued. “These folks were doing everything they were supposed to be doing.”

Such impassioned pleas from throughout the Rio Grande Valley to release the family have followed, including ** bipartisan support** from U.S. Reps. Monica De La Cruz, R-McAllen, and Vicente Gonzalez, D-Brownsville.

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Bobby Pulido, the Grammy-winning Tejano singer who’s running as a Democrat against De La Cruz in November, was critical of the family’s detainment as well.

“They’re doing it the right way, and now they’re being torn apart,” he said in a Facebook video, hitting De La Cruz for being “more than happy to invite these kids to Washington … when it looked good politically.”

Pulido was referring to ** a June 2025 trip Mariachi Oro made to Washington**, where they were recognized by the congresswoman on the House floor for winning their eighth state title.

“… Now that they need help, now that they’re sitting in detention centers, where is Monica De La Cruz,” Pulido added.

It should be noted, however, that De La Cruz, who was critical of the family’s detainment in her own statement on Saturday, said she requested to visit the Raymondville facility and is speaking with federal agencies about finding legal options for the family.

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Meanwhile, McAllen Mayor Javier Villalobos, also a Republican, threw his support behind the family on Sunday and called for legal pathways for the Gámez-Cuéllars.

McAllen City Commissioner Victor “Seby” Haddad, a candidate in the Texas House runoff for the District 41 seat, was on-hand at the protest on Sunday.

Haddad said he showed up to stand “in solidarity with the community.”

“These are our neighbors and friends and family, and this is just an instance of what’s happening out there,” Haddad told MyRGV.com. “I think we’re going to see more families broken up … we need to hold our legislators and administration and these agencies accountable, and I think as a community we want these things done the right way. To go after the criminals and leave the good, wholesome, productive members of society alone. Leave families of the Rio Grande Valley alone.”

The Blue Bunny Brigade is planning another protest at the detention facility in Raymondville at 11 a.m. Monday.

McAllen ISD said in a statement Saturday that it would not be commenting on the family’s detainment. MyRGV.com requested comment from DHS on Saturday and is awaiting a statement.

*To see more, view staff photographer Joel Martinez’s full photo gallery here: *

[Photo Gallery: Protesters demand release of McAllen mariachi family from ICE custody]