San Juan, P.R. — The American Civil Liberties Union of Puerto Rico (ACLUPR) and the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) Immigration Clinic denounced today the decision by immigration judge Elvin Talavera Peraza to deny bond to Juan Francisco Areche Minaya—citing an alleged flight risk unsupported by evidence presented in court. They stated that this decision adds to a pattern of abusive rulings in immigration proceedings in Puerto Rico, calling into question the impartiality with which cases involving the liberty of immigrants are being adjudicated. Areche Minaya has resided in Puerto Rico for over 28 years, has no criminal record, and is the father of two U.S. citizens and the son of a U.S. citizen. His family and life are established in Puerto Rico. Despite these ties and the evidence presented during the hearing, Talavera Peraza determined that he posed a flight risk and ordered his continued detention. "When a person has lived here for 28 years, has no criminal record, and has their children and mother in Puerto Rico, yet is still labeled a flight risk, we must seriously question how these cases are being adjudicated and whether immigrants are receiving truly impartial proceedings," stated attorney Annette Martínez Orabona, Executive Director of the ACLUPR. The ACLUPR maintained that such determinations raise serious questions regarding whether immigrants appearing before immigration courts in Puerto Rico are receiving individualized, neutral, and genuinely impartial assessments. The decision against Areche Minaya is all the more concerning because U.S. District Judge Gina Méndez Miró (District of Puerto Rico) had previously intervened to block the federal government from transferring him out of Puerto Rico and ordered a bond hearing—following the filing of a habeas corpus petition by the ACLUPR. During that bond hearing, immigration attorney Charito García Miranda, who directs the UPR Immigration Clinic, presented evidence demonstrating that Areche Minaya poses neither a danger to the community nor a flight risk. Nevertheless, Talavera Peraza denied bond based precisely on the untenable argument that he was a flight risk. Areche Minaya is the father of two minor U.S. citizens, and his mother is also a U.S. citizen. His family resides in Puerto Rico and relies on him for financial, physical, and day-to-day support. Additionally, he has two previously approved I-130 family-based petitions. “My dad has been present throughout my entire life. His family, his children, his mother, and his life are all here. Keeping him detained based on the claim that he might flee—when everything he has built over so many years is in Puerto Rico—is completely incomprehensible and untrue. What we want is for him to return to us and be able to defend himself while free,” stated Darjeerling Areche, Juan Francisco’s eldest daughter. The man was detained on August 11 while waiting in his vehicle for a friend who was buying electrical supplies at a business in San Juan. The detention occurred without incident, and Areche Minaya did not resist arrest. According to the habeas corpus petition filed with the federal court, eight masked men stopped him and took him into immigration custody. The petition further alleges that the stop was racially motivated. Impartiality of immigration judges called into question This case is particularly significant because it is the first to be argued in Puerto Rico following the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit’s decision in *Guerrero Orellana v. Moniz*, issued on August 13. In that ruling, the First Circuit rejected the federal government's interpretation that sought to mandate the detention of individuals already residing in the United States. The court determined that, under circumstances like those examined in that case, detention is governed by Section 1226(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows for the possibility of release on bail. In applying that precedent to the Areche Minaya case, Judge Méndez Miró concluded that he had demonstrated a substantial likelihood of prevailing on his claim and was entitled to a bond hearing. The federal court emphasized that it is bound by the First Circuit’s decision. “The First Circuit has just made it clear that these individuals have a right to a genuine opportunity to seek their release. A bond hearing cannot become a purely formal exercise where the outcome is predetermined. The right recognized by the court must have real consequences in the courtroom, and the decision must be based on the evidence,” stated attorney García Miranda. The Immigration Court located in Guaynabo currently has four immigration judges: Miguel Cordero González, Julia Diaz Rex, Pedro J. Espinal, and Elvin Talavera Peraza. Unlike federal district court judges, immigration judges are part of the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), an agency within the U.S. Department of Justice. For the ACLUPR, the experience of detained immigrants in Puerto Rico necessitates a particularly rigorous examination of whether decisions restricting their liberty are truly based on individualized assessments of the evidence and the guarantees recognized by federal courts. In the organization's view, these guarantees are not being met.