When a family member of a popular country music singer was arrested by ICE, he spoke out publicly about the emotional toll of family separation because of immigration bureaucracy.

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

Holiday travel can be stressful – missed flights, traffic jams, that sort of thing. But this year, many immigrant families have an additional concern that they could be targeted by ICE while on the move. From member station WPLN in Nashville, Rose Gilbert reports on one such case.

ROSE GILBERT, BYLINE: Thousands gathered recently for the annual Grand Ole Opry’s Christmas concert in Nashville. Announcer Charlie Mattos welcomes one of the artists to the stage.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

CHARLIE MATTOS: He’s a former police officer, a Texas chart-topper and an incredible bilingual recording artist. It’s always great to have him at the Opry. Will you welcome Mr. Frank Ray?

(APPLAUSE)

GILBERT: Before he got around to singing Christmas hits like “Feliz Navidad,” Ray told the crowd about an ICE arrest in his family.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

FRANK RAY: My brother-in-law was supposed to fly the day of Thanksgiving to meet us here. He was flying from El Paso, Texas, to BNA. Any Texas people in the crowd?

(CHEERING)

RAY: And this is where it becomes a downer. He was subsequently apprehended and detained by ICE. And I’m not trying to divide the room here. This is just what happened. These are the facts, which is terrible. So needless to say, that put a damper on our Thanksgiving holiday.

GILBERT: Ray is Mexican American and has spoken publicly about the challenges immigrants face, including in his 2023 song, “Jesus At The Taco Truck.”

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “JESUS AT THE TACO TRUCK”)

RAY: (Singing) I met Jesus at the taco truck.

GILBERT: But this time, it’s personal. On Thanksgiving Day, Ray woke up to a panicked call from his sister. Her husband, a Mexican national named Juan Nevarez, had been stopped by border patrol at the airport.

RAY: She’s in tears. She’s like, they just detained Juan at the El Paso airport, saying that his work visa no longer gives him legal status in the United States.

GILBERT: Nevarez has a five-year work permit, which he renewed just this spring. Still, he was detained and taken to an ICE processing facility in Otero County, New Mexico. That’s where he’s being held now, waiting for a hearing that will decide if he can stay in America with his wife and four children, all of whom are U.S. citizens.

ALYSSA NEVAREZ: We don’t understand why this happened.

GILBERT: That’s Alyssa Nevarez. She and Juan have been married since 2007. They grew up in neighboring border towns – one in Mexico, the other in the United States. Nevarez crossed the southern border illegally several times. And because those are still on his record, they’ve not applied for a green card.

NEVAREZ: He has that authorization to be here, to work, to provide for his family, you know? Why did they do this?

GILBERT: The Department of Homeland Security released a statement saying that Nevarez had a criminal record, including assault, battery, disorderly conduct and criminal trespassing, all from a 2023 dispute with a cousin, according to his wife. Nevarez did plead guilty to misdemeanor trespassing, but the prosecutors dropped all other charges. Now, his wife says Juan is struggling to cope with the crowded conditions in the ICE facility. She says he’s even considering giving up and signing the papers to be deported to Mexico.

NEVAREZ: And I’m like, no. No, no, no. Like, you can’t do that. You need to be strong. You need to be strong. And he’s like, you just don’t understand. It’s just so bad in here.

GILBERT: She’s hired an immigration lawyer and speaks with Juan over the phone as much as possible to try and keep his spirits up.

NEVAREZ: We were able to do a video visit, and this morning, he’s like, can you just let me see the outside?

GILBERT: So she took the phone outside to show him the sunrise. This holiday season has been tough on her family.

NEVAREZ: And my daughter was like, Mom, please, can we just put up the Christmas tree, and so it’s not like other years.

GILBERT: Her brother, Ray, says he’s lucky to be able to use his platform as a country artist to raise awareness about his brother-in-law’s case but also knows his family situation isn’t unique.

RAY: Holiday travel has always been kind of crazy as it is, but this story is just something that’s so common for so many Hispanic families and Latin families throughout the United States.

GILBERT: Nevarez’s hearing is expected early next year, but his family says they’re hoping for a Christmas miracle.