IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — An immigration judge has denied bond to a man who has been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement since he sought police help as the victim of a near-fatal shooting in Iowa months ago.
The ruling issued Wednesday means Felipe de Jesus Hernandez Marcelo, 28, will remain behind bars pending deportation proceedings. He acknowledges that he entered the country illegally in 2021 from his native Mexico.
Hernandez has been in ICE’s custody since June 24, three days after he nearly died from gunshot wounds he sustained when two people tried to rob him in Muscatine, Iowa. He is moving to apply for a special visa under a longstanding program passed by Congress to encourage victims to report crimes without fear of deportation.
But ICE rescinded a policy that shielded crime victims in January, and a growing number of them face arrest and deportation as the Trump administration prioritizes its crackdown on illegal immigration.
A quick emergency response by police and doctors at two hospitals saved Hernandez’s life after a bullet traveled through his wrist and thigh in the early morning of June 21.
When Hernandez went to the police station to ask for his car, money and other belongings back days later, Muscatine police arrested him on a months-old warrant for failing to pay traffic tickets. Hours later, the county jail turned him over to ICE.
While in jail, Hernandez has missed medical appointments needed to rehabilitate his leg, he’s been separated from the 9-year-old son he’s raising as a single father, and he’s been out of the construction job that supported his extended family.
An immigration judge in Omaha, Nebraska agreed last month with ICE that he’s subject to mandatory detention. A federal judge overturned that ruling last week, finding that Hernandez was entitled to a bond hearing and was suffering “irreparable harm” in custody.
Hernandez’s lawyer Emily Rebelskey argued at the hearing Wednesday that her client is not a flight risk or danger to the community, and should be released pending further proceedings. She noted that he’s in the process of applying for a U visa while serving as a key witness in the criminal case against his two assailants. One of them has pleaded guilty while the other is awaiting trial.
Immigration Judge Alexandra Larsen, however, wrote in her ruling denying bond Wednesday that it is “speculative at best” whether Hernandez will qualify for the visa. She noted that the Muscatine County prosecutor is waiting for criminal proceedings to conclude before certifying Hernandez’s eligibility.
Larsen also said Hernandez would be a flight risk if released from ICE’s custody. She cited “repeated violations of the law” during his 4 ½ years in the United States, noting he was living and working in the country illegally and his tickets include one for driving with a suspended license.
Rebelskey said she would continue fighting for her client’s release, citing “ample evidence in the record that he is not a flight risk.”
