El Paso High student, family held in ICE custody at Dilley pending immigration hearing

El Paso High student, family held in ICE custody at Dilley pending immigration hearing by Natalie Venegas Mon, November 9, 2026 at 8:35 PM Updated Mon, November 9, 2026 at 8:44 PM 4 VIEW ALL PHOTOS El Paso High student, family held in ICE custody at Dilley pending immigration hearing (Credit: U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro) Comment on this story 0 Comment Share story Share topics: Immigration ICE Dilley ElPaso Deportation FamilyDetention MichellGerman JoaquinCastro EL PASO, TEXAS (KFOX14/CBS4) — An El Paso High School student and her family are being held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody after agents said they entered the country illegally. In a statement to KFOX14/CBS4, an ICE spokesperson said agents detained the family on Oct. 22 in El Paso for entering the U.S. illegally in 2022. ICE said agents arrested Pablo Jose Guerrero-Pimentel from Venezuela and that he “admitted he was in the U.S. illegally and had no documentation to remain in the U.S. legally.” Guerrero-Pimentel was arrested along with “a 17-year-old female passenger also in the country illegally," identified as Michell German, an El Paso High School student. "While conducting targeted enforcement arrests on October 22 in El Paso, Texas, ICE arrested Pablo Jose Guerrero-Pimentel, an illegal alien from Venezuela. Guerrero-Pimentel admitted he was in the U.S. illegally and had no documentation to remain in the U.S. legally. He was arrested along with a 17-year-old female passenger also in the country illegally," an ICE spokesperson said. According to ICE, the family entered the United States illegally in 2022 and "were released into the country under the Biden administration." The family is currently being detained at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, south of San Antonio, pending a hearing before an immigration judge. Since the family's detainment, U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro has called for German and her family to be released. According to Castro, German is a member of the Tigerette dance team and attends the Center for Career and Technology Education, where she studies cosmetology. Video shared by Castro over the weekend shows El Paso High School honoring German for senior night, with students holding a sign in her memory. “Michell Germán should be getting ready for Senior Night this Friday. Instead, she’s locked away at the Dilley Trailer Prison with her parents and younger sister. I met with the family last week. Michell is a bright young student at a magnet school in El Paso, the Center for Career and Technology Education, who’s working toward her cosmetology license and dreams of a career in medicine. Her younger sister Paola attends Lamar Elementary and is only 11 years old," Castro said. He added, "ICE should release the family immediately. Now is the time for Democrats to get to work, shut down the Dilley Trailer Prison, and end family detention once and for all.” Castro said he is working with U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar of El Paso to bring the family back to El Paso. According to El Paso Matters, immigration attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch and her law firm represent the family in their removal defense case in immigration court, where she stated the family came to the U.S. more than four years ago, living like any other family before everything changed. KFOX14/CBS4 has reached out to Lincoln-Goldfinch for comment. 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