Federal judge sides with McCook migrant detainee in ACLU Nebraska lawsuit

By Cindy Gonzalez, The Nebraska Examiner

LINCOLN, Neb. — An undocumented migrant caught in legal limbo at the ICE detention center in McCook will get a bond hearing soon, or, a federal judge has ruled, the federal government must release him. 

U.S. District Judge Susan Bazis issued an order late Monday calling for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to arrange a bond hearing within seven days for Carlos Roldan Chang. If that doesn’t happen, she ordered that Roldan Chang be immediately released. 

ACLU Nebraska, which filed a lawsuit Jan. 26 on behalf of the Guatemala native, called the order a welcome and positive development — for him as well as for a broader ongoing battle against a new ICE policy that asserts nearly all detained immigrants are ineligible for bond hearings and release on bond as they fight deportation proceedings.

Although a federal class action lawsuit had vacated ICE’s mandatory detention policy, which is based upon the Trump administration’s new interpretation of statutes, the feds have continued to deny bond hearings. ACLU Nebraska over the past couple of weeks has filed three related federal lawsuits seeking a bond hearing for ICE detainees in Nebraska, including one for Roldan Chang.

The undocumented immigrant has been in the United States for more than 20 years, and has been at the McCook detention facility since December. His first contact with ICE authorities was late last year in Des Moines, said ACLU Nebraska. He had been in the Polk County Jail after he was arrested for assault causing bodily injury.

Federal officials started deportation proceedings against Roldan Chang in December, and an immigration judge denied his request for a bond hearing, based on the new Trump administration policy. 

Bazis, in the Monday decision, said the court has previously concluded that noncitizens detained within the interior of the U.S. who have been present in the country for years are entitled to a bond hearing. 

“It reaches the same conclusion here based on its interpretation of the relevant statutory detention framework,” her order said.

Roldan Chang seeks release on bond to be with his family members while his legal team works on his deportation case.

“We were grateful to see this swift order,” said Grant Friedman, ACLU attorney. He said it affirmed the nonprofit’s contention that Chang is entitled to a bond hearing and that his ongoing detention without a hearing is unlawful.

Friedman called the Monday order a “welcome development,” as it granted what the ACLU sought in the lawsuit. But he said it is far from the “last hurdle,” as his client’s release is not guaranteed even if provided a bond hearing. 

“We are hopeful on next steps, and we will continue to advocate for others in ICE custody who are facing similar circumstances,” Friedman said.