In February, federal immigration authorities detained mariachi brothers Antonio Gámez-Cuéllar, 18, and his brothers Caleb, 14, and Joshua, 12, amid President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. 

Now, after being released in March amid widespread public backlash, the McAllen siblings are set to perform alongside Grammy Award-winning artist Kacey Musgraves at one of Texas’ most legendary honk-tonks — Gruene Hall. 

For Antonio and Caleb, the opportunity means everything.

“I feel really happy and very grateful for the opportunity (Musgraves) gave us to play with her at Gruene Hall,” Caleb told ValleyCentral in a Tuesday report. “Especially at Gruene Hall, which is a very old building, I mean, it’s been around for ages.”

Antonio was detained at the El Valle Detention Center in Raymondville, while his two younger brothers and their parents were detained at a family detention center in Dilley. According to the Department of Homeland Security, the family had been living in the U.S. after illegally entering in 2023 near Brownsville.

But advocates like U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, said the family followed all the necessary steps to enter the U.S. by claiming asylum through the CBP One app. The app was created during the Biden Administration and later canceled under the Trump administration. That move reportedly stripped immigration status from more than 900,000 migrants — an action a federal judge ruled illegal in a March 31 decision.

The boys and their parents were released March 10, on the condition that their parents attend mandatory check-ins with ICE as their case progressed. Despite the harrowing ordeal, the boys’ love for music hasn’t changed.

“For me, music is everything; it’s what has brought me so much joy over the years, performing on the world’s biggest stages — well, in the U.S., like Carnegie Hall, or going to Washington, D.C. — I never imagined I’d experience something like that, and it’s such a huge satisfaction that music is now everything to me,” Antonio said. “It is a gift from God, a truly wonderful gift.”

All three brothers, along with their father, are scheduled to open for Musgraves in a series of shows from May 3 through May 5 at Gruene Hall.