Detained After ICE Traffic Stop, Man Sues Seeking Release or Bond Hearing

LINCOLN, Neb. – An Omaha resident being held in the immigrant detention center in McCook, Nebraska, is suing federal and state officials with the goal of regaining his freedom. Jorge Calderon Rivera’s lawsuit argues that immigration authorities have unlawfully detained him without the opportunity to have a bond hearing. It asks a judge to order a bond hearing or Calderon’s immediate release.

Attorneys with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Nebraska and Center for Immigrant and Refugee Advancement (CIRA) are representing Calderon. The ACLU of Nebraska team is leading this federal lawsuit. CIRA is taking point on immigration proceedings.

Calderon has lived in Omaha for about a decade. He is a father of three minor children, one of whom has a developmental disability. He came to the U.S. from El Salvador, where he supported law enforcement efforts to stop gang activity. Calderon has no criminal record. His first interaction with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents came in mid-January during a traffic stop in Omaha by agents in an unmarked car.

Calderon is one of many immigrants nationally who have been held without access to a bond hearing based on an ICE policy change that asserts that a majority of detained immigrants - including those encountered within the country - are ineligible for bond hearings and release on bond. Despite a federal judge declaring the practice unlawful in a class action lawsuit, Calderon and other immigrants continue to face detention with no opportunity for a bond hearing while their immigration cases proceed.

Calderon’s lawsuit argues that denial of his bond hearing violates the Immigration and Nationality Act and the judge’s order in the class action lawsuit. The filing requests a court order directing immigration officials to either release him immediately or schedule a bond hearing.

Speaking through a Spanish-speaking interpreter, Calderon said:

“I have missed being with my wife and children, especially my daughter, who has special needs. I am asking for an opportunity to show what I have already shown for almost 10 years: that I am happy to attend my court appointments and contribute to my community. In my time in the U.S., I have devoted myself to being a good husband, providing for my children, and taking my daughter to all her medical treatments. I also want people to know I am a God-fearing man. I enjoy volunteering at St. Peter’s and St. Joseph’s Catholic Parishes, go to Mass on Sundays, and provide spiritual and emotional support to married couples through the local Columban missionaries.”

CIRA Senior Attorney Ariel Magaña Linares said:

“Criminal defendants are afforded the opportunity to show they are not flight risks or dangers to the community. By contrast, Mr. Calderon, a man who has never been charged or convicted of any crime, is being kept away from his family and the life he has built in the U.S. for nearly a decade. This is why federal courts across the country have limited the government’s detention authority with respect to our immigrant neighbors. Mr. Calderon's family, neighbors, and faith community all agree he is a humble and honest man who deserves to be with his family while he asserts his right to remain in the U.S.”

ACLU of Nebraska Staff Attorney Jamel J.W. Connor said:

“Immigration officials have repeatedly claimed they are focusing on public safety threats, but here is one more example where the government’s rhetoric is inconsistent with reality. In this case, our client is a dad with no criminal history who in fact put his own safety at risk while working against Salvadoran gang violence. Mr. Calderon is entitled to a bond hearing. We will do all we can to ensure that he is afforded that due process and has a chance to seek release on bond and return to his family.”

Federal judges across the country, including in Nebraska, have ruled against ICE in lawsuits challenging its mandatory detention policy. The U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers Nebraska, heard arguments in the government’s appeal of one of those orders yesterday.