After weeks in ICE detention and a wave of community support, the Alamo Heights family is finally back home — now preparing to continue their asylum case.
ALAMO HEIGHTS, Texas — An emotional reunion unfolded Thursday morning as an Alamo Heights family detained by ICE at a bus stop was finally reunited after more than two weeks apart.
The family — 11-year-old Victor Labrador, 8-year-old Victoria Monseratt Labrador and their stepmother, Betania — had been held at the ICE Family Detention Center in Dilley after immigration agents took them into custody on April 27 while they were waiting for the school bus outside their Alamo Heights townhome.
Their father, Victor Labrador, previously told KENS 5 he had briefly stepped back inside the home to grab his keys when agents surrounded his family.
“The moment I step out is when I see my family surrounded,” Labrador said in an earlier interview.
KENS 5 cameras were there Thursday morning as the children and their stepmother embraced their father for the first time since the detention.
“I love you guys so much,” Victor Labrador said through tears as he hugged his family.
The case sparked outrage across San Antonio and beyond, drawing support from parents, neighbors, elected officials and immigration advocates. Community members organized rallies, raised thousands of dollars for legal expenses and pushed for the family’s release.
Congressman Joaquin Castro publicly advocated for the family, posting that the children “belong at school and at home.”
“The Uzcategui-Labrador family is coming home to San Antonio!” Castro posted online after news of the release. “Thank you to everyone who spoke up—your voice made a difference!”
The family’s immigration attorney, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, said the family is now protected by a federal judge’s order preventing further detention while their asylum case moves forward.
“So the family’s out there out of detention. The federal judge has ordered that they should not be detained,” Lincoln-Goldfinch said. “They are asylum seekers. And they will have another court hearing where we will go and put forward their asylum case.”
The attorney said the emotional toll on the family has been significant.
“What this family has gone through is very traumatic,” Lincoln-Goldfinch said. “And there’s going to be consequences for them emotionally because of it.”
“What I’m very pleased about at the end of this is how quickly it moved, because sometimes these cases can take many months,” she said. “But I think the reaction of the community, the Alamo Heights community, Congressman Castro’s office, the media coverage for this case, I think has really mattered, and the community support for this family has really mattered. And ultimately we got a fast outcome for them. And that is something to celebrate.”
Lincoln-Goldfinch also described the family as deeply grateful despite the ordeal.
“This family has been one of my favorite families in 20 years,” she said. “Because the way that they showed gratitude and positivity through what I’m sure has been the hardest thing, one of the hardest things in their life.”
The attorney said the family’s next court date has not yet been scheduled because their case is moving from a detained docket to a non-detained docket.
“We’re awaiting the next court date and whenever it’s scheduled will be there,” she said.
For now, she said, the focus is on helping the children recover and move forward.
“So we’re going to focus on their asylum case and winning their asylum case,” Lincoln-Goldfinch said. “And they have a strong case. They have a strong claim for asylum. I think that they have a winnable case. And that’s going to be our focus. That and getting these kids back into school and back on track so they can, you know, wrap up their year and start their summer.”