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Editor's note: This story was updated at 2:00 p.m. on May 14, 2026.
A federal judge has ordered the release of two elementary school children and their stepmother detained last month by federal immigration agents at an Alamo Heights school bus stop.
Eleven-year-old Victor Labrador, 8-year-old Montserrat Labrador, and their stepmother, Maria Betania Castillo, were being held at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, about 70 miles southwest of San Antonio.
They were detained while walking to a bus stop on April 27.
The federal judge ordered the family to be released by 9:30 a.m. Thursday morning, attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch said in a video. This comes after attorneys with Lincoln-Goldfinch law argued for their release at a habeas corpus hearing on Wednesday.
San Antonio Democratic Congressman Joaquin Castro spoke at a press conference from Washington shortly after the family’s release and said he hopes there is no appeal to the judge’s decision.
“For most of these cases where the judge has granted the habeas petition, there has been no appeal in many of them, and I don’t think the government has much of a leg to stand on," said Castro.
Castro said in a social media post that the family is on their way home to San Antonio.
Victor, Monserrat, and Maria are on their way home! Thank you to the entire San Antonio community for speaking out and demanding their release from the Dilley trailer prison. We will not stop until all children are free. pic.twitter.com/mT0Yr96LVx
— Joaquin Castro (@JoaquinCastrotx) May 14, 2026
The children attend Cambridge Elementary in the Alamo Heights Independent School District. Castro wrote that many of Victor’s fifth grade classmates wrote him letters of support following his detainment.
The Department of Homeland Security alleges the family was detained after entering the U.S. illegally in 2021.
The Venezuelan family had an asylum court date scheduled for 2027.
“They were doing everything the right way. This was a complete and utter surprise to them,” said attorney Lincoln-Goldfinch during a press conference earlier this month calling for their release.
Advocates and lawmakers have continuously raised concerns about alleged unsafe conditions and inadequate medical care at the Dilley facility.
Federal court data recently analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) finds immigration-related lawsuits have surged to record highs in 2026.
TRAC found there’s been a sharp rise in habeas corpus lawsuits, which challenge the legality of imprisonment. It has largely been driven by the rapid increase in the Trump administration's action to arrest, detain, and rapidly deport immigrants.
