Immigration Judge to Rule on ICE Detainee's Future

An immigration judge is considering whether to release a San Francisco man from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention after a federal court ruled that his previous bond hearing violated his constitutional rights.

Mario Ixchop Perez, 38, was detained by ICE in 2018 after racking up several convictions for alcohol-related offenses.

According to a federal lawyer, between 2009 and 2015, Ixchop was  pulled over five times for driving under the influence of alcohol.

But his lawyer with the San Francisco Public Defender's office argues that, since his last arrest in 2015, he's completed "extensive alcohol rehabilitation" and has been sober since then.

Ixchop was originally being detained by ICE at the West County Detention Facility in Richmond. After Contra Costa County ended its contract to house ICE detainees, he was transferred to a private prison facility in Aurora, Colorado.

Ixchop and his lawyers requested he be released on bond in 2018, so he could remain with his family while waiting for a separate court decision on whether or not he should be deported.

"He made a change for the better and he overcame his addiction, and then immigration detained him," said Deputy Public Defender Jennifer Friedman, who represents Ixchop. "And for the next two years after that, he continued to build upon that solid foundation of sobriety and rehabilitation while he was detained."

An immigration judge rejected the request, saying that Ixchop had not met his alleged burden of proving he's not dangerous.

But on Jan. 23, U.S. District Judge Edward J. Davila overturned that ruling, agreeing that the federal government had violated Ixchop's right to due process by placing the burden of proof on him to disprove that he was dangerous.

The judge then granted him another bond hearing.

"Immigration judges routinely place the burden on the detained non-citizen to prove that they're not a danger and that they're not a flight risk, and essentially holding these often unrepresented non-citizens to the impossible task of proving a negative," said Deputy Public Defender Friedman. "What this judge held was a misinterpretation of federal law and that the constitution and due process require that — even at an initial bond hearing — the government bear the burden of establishing that the continued detention of a non-citizen is necessary."

Ixchop has lived in San Francisco since he was 16-years-old, and attended Mission High School. He's married to a U.S. citizen and has three young children, ages 5, 4, and 2-years-old.

"I want to be released to be with my wife and my three children to support them. I think the judge’s decision is fair. After two years of being detained by ICE, all I’m asking for is another chance," said Ixchop in a statement.

At his second bond hearing on Friday, government lawyers argued that Ixchop shouldn’t be released because his drinking makes him a danger to the community.

But Ixchop's youngest sister, who attended the hearing, said her brother should be given a second chance.

"I know that [he made] mistakes and, I think, they should give him a chance. For him to be with his family, provide for his family," Cecilia Ixchop said.

An immigration judge is due to rule on his case on Wednesday.