Joaquin Castro

Two teenage brothers and mariachi stars who visited the White House last summer were released with their family on Monday from an ICE detention center in South Texas, immediately following the visit of a delegation of Democratic lawmakers who pressed for them to be freed.

The case had drawn national outrage, and Representative Joaquin Castro of Texas, who led the delegation, had been working to secure their release since the family was detained over a week ago.

On the drive to the Dilley Immigration Processing Center on Monday, Mr. Castro spoke to an ICE official out of the San Antonio field office and warned him that the story of the detained mariachi brothers was gaining national attention and would prompt an outcry from the public. He compared it to the backlash over images of Liam Ramos, the 5-year-old wearing a Spider-Man backpack and an oversize fluffy blue winter hat, being detained by agents after being stopped in Minneapolis with his father. Liam also ended up at Dilley and was released last month.

After visiting with the brothers, Antonio and Caleb Gámez-Cuéllar, and members of their family inside the detention center, Mr. Castro waited in the parking lot with other visiting lawmakers as they were processed for release.

“The mom is very heartbroken and upset, and she feels like her sons were used,” Mr. Castro said in an interview after visiting with her inside the facility. “She’s saying, ‘We followed all the rules; we went to our appointments; we haven’t done anything wrong.’ They’re very nervous, it’s so uncertain for them.”

The family entered the United States in 2023 at the border crossing in Brownsville, Texas, and claimed asylum, according to Luis Antonio Martínez, the father, who said they were fleeing threats in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, where he had been kidnapped by cartel members.

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