A country singer is speaking out after a family member was recently detained by ICE as part of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration.
Frank Ray, who is signed to Broken Bow imprint Stoney Creek Records and had his first single on the charts in 2021 with “Country’d Look Good On You,” revealed in a post on social media that his brother-in-law was detained by ICE on Thanksgiving while on his way to Nashville. Ray, who is himself Hispanic and whose real name is Francisco Gomez, says that his brother-in-law had recently renewed his Employment Authorization but was stopped while going through TSA and told that it was no longer valid:
“My brother-in-law is Mexican and had just renewed his Employment Authorization for another 5 years. He was detained at security and told that was no longer legal status to be in the country. Mind you, being given government documentation issued March of this year that would make any reasonable person believe otherwise.
My nephew – an American and just a kid – waited for my dad at the airport in custody of some BP agents. My brother-in-law was subsequently taken away to a facility under the custody of ICE.
No warning. Just gone.”
Ray says that his family had planned on going to the Grand Ole Opry show together in Nashville, but that their holiday instead turned into a “traumatic event.”
As a former police officer himself, Ray emphasizes his respect for law enforcement, but blasts ICE for using “predatory tactics” to target “hardworking families,” calling it a sign of a “broken immigration system.”
“I’m the guy who’s always stood by law enforcement. I still believe in the people who step into danger every day with good hearts. I’ve lived that life, I’ve written about that life, and Hard to Be a Hero came from a real place.
But there’s a difference between heroes … and systems that forget people are human.
I’m also a proud Mexican-American. I know what it looks like to work hard, to build something from nothing, to love this country and still feel like you’re treated as “other.” And when agencies start using predatory tactics to target hardworking families – when kids get caught in the middle, when holidays turn into trauma – that’s not safety. That’s not protection. That’s a failure of a broken immigration system.
And before you ask the question “why didn’t they just do it the right way?” Please know, that is a gross over-simplification of an incredibly complicated system and social issue.”
Ray says that he’s using his platform to speak out for people from his culture, and he believes we need to do better as a country:
“This is happening to people from my culture all around the country. And I just know that we can do better. I can be a patriot and think this is wrong. Both can be true.
You can love this country and still say, “This isn’t right.”
Also, speaking up doesn’t make me a part of whatever political ideology you think I might have – it just makes me human.”
Ray’s brother-in-law, Juan Nevarez-Porras, has reportedly lived in the United States for around 20 years, and has applied for a Green Card. According to People, he filed an application for cancellation of removal back in 2015, and his immigration case was administratively closed under President Barack Obama.
The country singer says his brother-in-law has no criminal record, but Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin says that Nevarez-Porras has a lengthy criminal history that includes battery, assault, criminal trespassing and disorderly conduct.
According to McLaughlin:
“In 2006, he illegally entered the U.S. in Columbus, New Mexico. Work authorization does not confer any legal status in this country. Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, if you break the law, you will face the consequences. Criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the U.S.”
In a follow-up video, Ray said that many in the country music community have reached out offering assistance, including radio host Bobby Bones who offered to help pay for an immigration attorney in the comments on his original post:
“A number of people reached out with contact information to immigration lawyers, people like Bobby Bones who just got the conversation started about crowdfunding, which is something I wasn’t even thinking about.”
And he says that his brother-in-law “exemplifies everything we sing about in country music.”
“In my brother-in-law’s case he exemplifies everything we sing about in country music. Family, faith and hard work. He works every day of his life. He’s been here for decades now, he’s started businesses here in the United States.
And I think that’s the frustrating part, is if our government, and if we are willing to let them do that, if we’re willing to treat them like Americans and tax their income and let them start businesses and LLCs and all that stuff and treat them like American citizens, they should be afforded rights. Right?”
Nevarez-Porras is currently being held at the Otero County Processing Center in Chaparral, New Mexico.
