A Michigan man facing possible deportation while battling life-threatening leukemia must be released from custody or at least be granted a bond hearing in immigration court, a federal judge ruled Friday.
The decision is a victory for Jose Contreras-Cervantes and seven other plaintiffs represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan. If released on bond from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, they could return to their families while their immigration cases move through the courts.
Judge Brandy McMillion ruled that ICE’s blanket refusal to hold bond hearings violates due process protections under federal law. She ordered that the hearings be held within seven days and requested a written update by October 27.
The ruling pushes back against a Trump administration policy that eliminated bond hearings for immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally, even if they have no criminal record. The practice has been repeatedly challenged in courts across the country.
“Without first evaluating each petitioner’s risk of flight or dangerousness, their detention is a violation of due process rights afforded to them,” McMillion wrote in her opinion.
Contreras-Cervantes, 33, has lived in the U.S. for about 20 years after coming from Jalisco, Mexico. He was diagnosed last year with chronic myeloid leukemia, a life-threatening cancer of the bone marrow, and was told he has only four to six years to live, according to his wife, Lupita Contreras, a U.S. citizen.
“This ruling provides incredible relief for me and my family,” Lupita said in a statement. “The stress created by the threats to Jose’s health because of the disruption of his treatment for a rare, life-threatening form of leukemia has been constant.”
Contreras-Cervantes was arrested August 5 after a traffic stop in Macomb County. He was transferred between facilities in Michigan and Ohio, going 22 days without medication, his wife said. He is now held at the North Lake Processing Center in Baldwin, Michigan, where he is receiving a substitute medication.
“This decision is the latest among dozens of cases where federal judges have ruled that ICE cannot hold people without bond hearings,” said ACLU attorney Miriam Aukerman.
The ACLU’s lawsuit, filed September 29 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, also represents seven other immigrants held in Michigan facilities. One of those individuals has since been released.
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