Texas punk singer’s tour halted after father’s ICE deportation

During a sweltering Sunday night in South Houston, the ska-punk group I Hate Myself And I Want To Die played what became their last American gig after ICE agents arrested frontman Omar Compean Jr.’s father near the teen’s high school. The family discovered the arrest through online databases and later learned he had been transferred to the Montgomery Processing Center before being deported to Zacatecas, Mexico. The sudden loss halted the band’s newly booked 11-show summer tour spanning Arizona, California and Texas, and bookers began reaching out for future dates that now remain uncertain.

Local musicians, including Alejandro Estrada, used the concert to denounce Houston mayor John Whitmire’s cooperation with ICE, while veteran punks Harvey Melachor and Lee Almaraz reflected on decades of anti-immigrant enforcement. Policy analyst Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh noted a shift toward interior immigration enforcement involving multiple agencies. Despite the setback, Omar expressed a desire to stay connected with his father and continue creating music online.