Three teenage mariachi musicians who were temporarily detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in February have been tapped to open for country singer Kacey Musgraves at several upcoming shows in Texas.
- +Teen mariachi trio detained by ICE to open for Kacey Musgraves in Texas
On Monday, Musgraves announced that the Gámez-Cuéllar brothers Antonio, 18; Caleb, 14; and Joshua, 12, would join her for performances at Gruene Hall from 3 to 5 May as part of her Middle of Nowhere tour.
On Monday, Musgraves announced that the Gámez-Cuéllar brothers Antonio, 18; Caleb, 14; and Joshua, 12, would join her for performances at Gruene Hall from 3 to 5 May as part of her Middle of Nowhere tour.
The last of those dates is Cinco de Mayo, which commemorates a Mexican military victory over a French army at the 1862 battle of Puebla. That holiday is also popular in the US, where communities nationwide celebrate it.
Musgraves, a 37-year-old Texas native and Grammy winner, made Monday’s announcement after the Gámez-Cuéllar brothers were arrested alongside their parents by ICE in February – and subsequently released amid a bipartisan backlash to their detention.
The two younger boys and their parents were held at a family detention center in Dilley, Texas. Antonio, meanwhile, was separated and placed in a different adult facility, according to Congressman Joaquin Castro, a Texas Democrat who was among lawmakers from both major US political parties calling for the family’s release.
The case drew national attention in part because the brothers had traveled to Washington DC in summer 2025 after their high school mariachi ensemble won a state competition in Texas. Their Republican congressional representative, Monica De La Cruz, later invited the ensemble to the House floor in recognition of their success.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, said the family was living in the country without legal permission. DHS added that the boys’ parents “chose to bring their adult son and two children with them”.
However, the boys’ father, Luis Antonio Martínez, told the New York Times that the family entered the US in 2023 on an asylum claim after fleeing cartel threats in the Mexican state of San Luis Potosí.
The family attended scheduled court check-ins after settling in McAllen, Texas. Martínez said in February that ICE had instructed them to report to an appointment, where they were then detained.
In response to their detention, De La Cruz said it “breaks my heart”, adding: “I have repeatedly urged that enforcement target those who actually threaten our communities, not good, law-abiding, talented people who are working through the legal process.”
After their release in March, Musgraves took to the social media platform Instagram to celebrate the news, writing: “Great so come on the road with me.”
Gruene Hall, where Musgraves and the brothers are set to perform, is one of Texas’s most celebrated live music venues. First built in 1878, it draws music fans to hundreds of show annually.
