Mariachi band star detained by ICE performs ‘Star-Spangled Banner’ for the Fourth of July
A mariachi musician arrested by federal immigration authorities performed “The Star-Spangled Banner” to commemorate the Fourth of July while locked up inside a Texas detention center where he is still being held.
Hebert Kaleth Ibarra Castro, 20, was four years old when he arrived in the U.S. with this family after fleeing violence in Mexico, according to Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro, who is advocating for his release. Hebert Castro was still wearing his mariachi attire after performing at a birthday party when he was arrested outside San Antonio last month.
On Thursday, as the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center commemorated the country’s independence, Hebert Castro belted out a rendition of the national anthem alongside a display of fellow detainees’ red-white-and-blue handkerchiefs, according to The San Antonio Express. The facility’s warden recorded the performance.
The detention center plans to broadcast the performance in detainees’ housing units.
He is among thousands of immigrants targeted by Donald Trump’s administration in a government-wide effort to arrest and deport tens of thousands of people who have lived in the country for years without incident as part of a broad anti-immigration campaign.
Moments before his arrest on June 25, Castro texted his wife, who is a U.S. citizen, “Baby, I’ve been pulled over.”
According to the congressman, when Castro arrived at the South Texas ICE Processing Center roughly 55 miles outside San Antonio, a worker taunted him with a request: “If you sing me a song, I’ll let you go.”
He remained in his traje de charro — a highly ornamented suit with a navy-blue shirt and black pants with silver buttons — for nearly 18 hours before he was allowed to shower and change in the early morning hours the day after his arrest, Castro said.
News of the alleged mockery has rallied mariachi performers across the country to demand his release.
“They can treat us this way and lock us up and chain us up like animals, but still request for us to sing a song that speaks about a land that is free,” Castro told The San Antonio Express.
The Department of Homeland Security said Castro will remain in custody while seeking his removal from the country. Several federal courts have recently blocked the Trump administration’s policy of detaining immigrants who do not pose a threat to their communities while they challenge their release; the government must hold a bond hearing within 90 days of their detention, a federal appeals court ruled this week.
In a statement, Homeland Security encouraged “all illegal immigrants” to “self-deport now.”
“If not, you will be arrested and deported without a chance to return,” the agency said.
Castro — dubbed “El Nino” or “the kid” by members of his group Mariachi Los Galleros de San Antonio — plays the vihuela, a five-stringed, guitar-like instrument. The ensemble has performed across the state.
