SAN ANTONIO – A South Texas congressman is calling for the release of a father and his 9-year-old daughter after what he described as their detention following a traffic stop by Texas Department of Public Safety troopers.
In a post on X, U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, said Texas DPS pulled over Jesús Bracho as he was arriving to work. Castro said that when Bracho was stopped, he told his 9-year-old daughter, Katherine, to go inside his boss’ house.
Castro said DPS called Immigration and Customs Enforcement and took Jesús. He said ICE agents later returned and “then forced him to lure his daughter out so they could take her too,” adding that “she was scared and didn’t know where she was going.”
According to Castro, Katherine is a student at Bonnie Ellison Elementary. He described Jesús as “a hardworking mechanic” and said he “doesn’t have a criminal record.”
Castro said Jesús and Katherine “have been locked up at the Dilley Trailer Prison for over a month.”
“Governor Abbott has ordered DPS troopers to help ICE arrest hardworking folks and children in our community,” Castro wrote.
Castro said he is calling on ICE to “immediately release Jesús and Katherine” and to “stop fueling Trump and Abbott’s mass deportation machine.”