SAN ANTONIO – Two Alamo Heights children and their stepmother, who were detained in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody in Dilley, were released on Thursday following a federal judge’s order.
U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-San Antonio) shared a photo on Facebook that shows the family, which includes Maria Betania Uzcategui-Castillo, of Venezuela, and her stepchildren, Victor Uzcategui-Labrador Jr., 11, and Monserrat Uzcategui-Labrador, 8, in the back seat of a vehicle with smiles and tears.
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In a news conference held over Zoom on Thursday, Castro credited the Alamo Heights community for “amplifying this case.”
Castro said the Cambridge Elementary School classmates of the Uzcategui-Labrador children sent out more than 60 letters to Castro’s office and will deliver them to the family.
“Regardless of your politics, ICE should not be targeting school bus stops to round people up,” Castro said.
ICE fully cooperated with orders, Castro said, and released the family just after 9 a.m. Thursday from the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley.
They were released pending an immigration hearing scheduled for later in the month, a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson told KSAT.
According to Castro, the Uzcategui-Labrador family was in ICE custody for more than two consecutive weeks (16 days).
U.S. District Court Judge Orlando Garcia of the Western District Court of Texas ordered the family’s release from the South Texas Family Residential Center on Wednesday. The facility is located around 75 miles southwest of San Antonio.
In a separate social media post on Wednesday, Castro announced that the Uzcategui-Labrador family will be released from the facility, “where they were locked away after being targeted at a school bus stop in San Antonio.”
The Uzcategui-Labrador family was detained by ICE on April 27, the same day as their stepmother’s birthday, immigration attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch said during a news conference earlier this month. The children are Alamo Heights Independent School District students who attend Cambridge Elementary.
Goldfinch said Maria and the children’s father, Victor Uzcategui-Labrador Sr., both have valid legal status, Goldfinch said. DHS previously said the family is in the United States without permanent legal status.
They have lived in San Antonio since 2021.
KSAT has reached out to ICE for comment. This is a developing story. Check back later for updates.
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