DETROIT – The ACLU of Michigan applauds today’s decision by a federal judge to order that Juan Manuel Lopez-Campos, a longtime Detroit resident and father of five U.S. citizen children, be either immediately released or given a bond hearing by Friday, September 5, so he can explain to an immigration judge why he is entitled to be released from detention while his immigration case proceeds.
Mr. Lopez-Campos has lived in the U.S. for 26 years, has many ties to his community and church, and has no criminal record. Yet, under a new nationwide Trump Administration directive, he’s been arrested, detained, and unlawfully refused the opportunity to be released on bond while his immigration case proceeds. Mr. Lopez-Campos has been in immigration custody since being pulled over during a routine traffic stop on June 25.
Today’s order, issued by U.S. District Judge Brandy R McMillion, means that Mr. Lopez-Campos must be given the opportunity to appear before an immigration judge to ask to be set free on bond while his case works its way through the system. Unlike criminal incarceration, immigration detention is a civil matter and only serves the limited purpose of facilitating someone's deportation--that is, when someone is dangerous or likely to flee if released while their immigration case proceeds. At the court-ordered hearing, Mr. Lopez-Campos will finally have a chance to present his compelling reasons why he should be able to return home to his family.
In its filing with the court, the ACLU of Michigan and its co-counsel, Shahad Atiya, asserted that Mr. Lopez-Campos was unlawfully being denied his right to a bond hearing in connection with the new directive issued by the Trump administration on July 8. Despite a law providing for bond hearings in Immigration Court, the directive attempts to reverse decades of government policy and practice. Left unchallenged, implementation of that directive threatens to put hundreds, or even thousands, of Michigan residents in mandatory immigration detention with no access to judicial review.
Today, the court agreed with the ACLU that denying Mr. Lopez-Campos a bond hearing under the government’s new directive not only violates immigration law, but is unconstitutional. The court wrote, in part, that the government’s “...recent shift to use the mandatory detention framework ... is not only wrong but also fundamentally unfair. In a nation of laws ..., we don’t get to arbitrarily choose which laws we feel like following when they best suit our interests.”
Ramis J. Wadood, staff attorney for the ACLU of Michigan, said this about the case:
“We are heartened by today’s decision. We asserted, and the court ruled, that the immigration laws and the Constitution entitle Juan to a bond hearing while his case proceeds.
The ruling is an important victory, but the fight is not over. The next step is for Juan, after nearly two months of being held behind bars and separated from his family, to finally have the opportunity to be released on bond. Given the close relationship he has with his five children, his decades of life in this country, close ties with his community and church, and the fact he has no criminal record, we’re very hopeful that he will be granted release now that he will finally have a bond hearing.
But there are hundreds, if not thousands, of others in Juan’s shoes. We are going to keep fighting to ensure that everyone else in a similar situation has a chance to come home to their families.”
Shahad Atiya, Mr. Lopez-Campos's immigration lawyer and a cooperating attorney with the ACLU, said this about the case:
"We are very pleased by the court's decision. We look forward to having Mr. Lopez-Campos home next week or have a hearing where he will show he should not have to remain locked up for months while pursuing relief that would allow him to stay in this country.”
Read the opinion here.
Read the petition here.