Longtime Princeton resident denied bond in immigration case as Trump policy blocks release (updated)

Jose Lopez, an immigrant who has lived in Princeton for three decades, was denied bond on Monday afternoon, Sept. 8, by a federal immigration judge in Newark.

Lopez must remain at an immigration detention facility in Pennsylvania until his final deportation hearing on Oct. 16, rather than being released until his final hearing.

He has worked for the same landscaping company his entire time in Princeton. Federal agents grabbed him and 14 other workers from a van on Harrison Street as they were heading to Cranbury to work on the morning of July 24.

The judge denied bail for Lopez because of a ruling Friday by the U.S. Board of Immigration Appeals upholding the new Trump administration policy denying bond hearings to immigrants who entered the country without authorization. The decision is binding on federal immigration courts.

Friday’s decision will affect hundreds of thousands of immigrants across the country. On Monday, judges denied one bond case after another because of the ruling. Many immigrants faced with such a ruling are requesting voluntary removal from the country rather than remaining in ICE custody until their final deportation hearings.

The board’s ruling overturns previous Justice Department policy that allowed anyone suspected of entering the U.S. illegally, but who could prove they had been living in the country for two years, to request an immigration judge to release them on bond. It also conflicts with recent federal court rulings finding the administration’s efforts to expand immigration detention violate the law and due process.

Immigrants in various parts of the country have already filed cases in federal district courts challenging the practice of denying them a bond hearing.

The lawyer for Lopez, Bielka Tortorelli, argued Monday in court that immigration judges have the authority to release people on bond while their court proceedings are pending.

“My client is not subject to mandatory detention,” Tortorelli said. She noted that the Supreme Court has made it clear that indefinite or prolonged detention without review raises serious due process problems. She also addressed the personal situation of Lopez.

“My client has strong ties to the community, no disqualifying criminal history, and is not a danger or flight risk,” Tortorelli said. “An individualized bond hearing is appropriate for this forum to evaluate these factors.”

The federal immigration judge in the case, Dennis Ryan Jr., said he recognized all the arguments Lopez’s lawyer made. But he said that because of Friday’s decision, he did not have and discretion when it comes to bonds.

“Unfortunately, it does bind my hands, and I’m not able to grant him a bond because of the jurisdictional issue,” Ryan said.

Nassau Presbyterian Church has created a fund called the Neighbor Fund to support Princeton families like the Lopez family who are directly affected by ICE detentions.

When Lopez was detained in July, he had a work permit and was awaiting a hearing to determine whether he would be granted permission to remain in the country. According to court documents obtained by Planet Princeton on Sept. 9, Lopez was not the target of the raid that morning.