Frank Ray Criticizes ICE Following Brother In Law’s Detention

Frank Ray, a former police officer who later found success as a country singer and released the song “Hard to Be a Hero” for “Police Week” in May, is now publicly criticizing what he believes is aggressive and dehumanizing enforcement against immigrants.

In a post shared on Instagram on Monday, Ray said that on Thanksgiving his brother in law, identified by Newsweek as Juan Antonio Nevarez Porras, was detained by TSA in El Paso, Texas. Ray explained that Nevarez Porras, who is Mexican and had recently renewed his employment authorization, was taken into custody while traveling. Ray’s 16 year old nephew, who is a U.S. citizen, was left waiting as border patrol agents held his father. “My brother in law was subsequently taken away to a facility under the custody of ICE,” Ray wrote. “No warning. Just gone.”

Ray went on to describe how his sister was in Nashville waiting for her husband, completely unaware of what was unfolding. When she finally received the call explaining where her husband was being held, Ray said it forced him to reflect deeply on his own views of law enforcement. While he emphasized that he continues to support individual officers, noting that “‘Hard to Be a Hero’ came from a real place,” he said he sees serious issues within the broader structure of ICE. “There’s a difference between heroes … and systems that forget people are human,” he wrote.

The singer, who has scored modest hits in recent years with songs like “Country’d Look Good on You” and “Somebody Else’s Whiskey,” also turned inward in his post. “I’m also a proud Mexican American,” Ray wrote. “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.’” He added that when enforcement practices target working families, place children in the middle, and turn holidays into traumatic moments, it no longer feels like protection. “That’s not safety,” he wrote. “That’s a failure of a broken immigration system.”

Ray said he has tried to process what happened to his family by framing it as a question of right and wrong. “This is happening to people from my culture all around the country,” he wrote. “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.’”

He ended the post by rejecting the idea that his comments reflected a shift in political identity. “Family comes first,” he wrote, alongside a final slide showing a portrait of his family.

According to Newsweek, Nevarez Porras’ wife, Alyssa Nevarez, said her husband works as a foreman for Renegade Construction and was granted a five year work visa in March. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security told Newsweek that the agency believes Nevarez Porras previously faced charges including battery, assault, criminal trespassing, and disorderly conduct, and also alleged that he entered the United States illegally in 2006.

“He did have a criminal trespassing charge in 2023 for being in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Nevarez told Newsweek. “I’m feeling lost, confused, sad, so many emotions and feelings with everything. Juan’s feeling hopeless and desperate, of course, sad, and scared.” She said the couple has been married for 18 years and shares four children.

In a follow up post shared Tuesday, Ray said his sister had begun crowdfunding to support her family and credited country music with giving him the courage to speak out. “If there’s one thing that country music has taught me,” he said in a video, “it’s that you gotta stand for something or you’ll fall for anything.” He added that his brother in law represents the values often celebrated in the genre. “In my brother in law’s case, he exemplifies everything we sing about in country music: family, faith, and hard work.”

Ray also addressed what he sees as the government’s responsibility in the situation. “If our government and 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?” he said. “And how convenient that we can treat them like American citizens until we don’t have to anymore.” He acknowledged that his decision to speak publicly came from personal pain. “When those injustices come knocking on my front door, of course I’m going to say something,” he said.

According to the ICE website, Nevarez Porras is currently listed as being in ICE custody at the Otero County Processing Center in New Mexico. His family told Newsweek that a hearing to determine his status could take place as soon as next month.