Justice for Guillermo campaign condemns appalling re-detention and bond denial of Guillermo Reyes: Stop the deportations, free Guillermo now!

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Justice for Guillermo Campaign.

San Jose, CA – The Justice for Guillermo Campaign unequivocally condemns Immigration Judge Steven M. Kirchner’s decision to order Guillermo’s re-detention without bond. The decision not only violates due process, but it undermines the community safety our justice and immigration systems purport to protect. Guillermo fought for-–and won-–the right to have his case heard before “a neutral adjudicator” while he continued his rehabilitative journey. Instead, he was re-arrested on Valentine’s Day. Guillermo Reyes was violently abducted outside his home, processed through Stockton ERO, and transferred to California City Detention Facility—a former prison currently facing ongoing litigation over abusive detention conditions.

The immigration judge’s unjust decision exposes a deeper structural truth about the immigration court system itself: that neutrality within the immigration court system does not exist. Immigration judges operate within the same executive branch driving mass detentions and deportations at the expense of human life. Since 2025, San Francisco judges with higher rates of favorable decisions have been removed, further undermining any claim of independence. In Guillermo’s case, IJ Kirchner chose re-detention over Guillermo’s wellbeing and stability, further advancing Trump’s deportation campaign which undermines community safety, and actively sabotages the rehabilitation efforts of formerly incarcerated immigrants like Guillermo who have already won their release.

Beyond the structural problems with immigration court review, the process afforded to Guillermo was fundamentally unjust. Guillermo and his counsel were never told what evidence the judge considered in making his decision, and they were not given the chance to challenge evidence that was prejudicial or unreliable. Guillermo has not been convicted of any new offense. Recent arrests rest on unproven allegations; they are not evidence or convictions. Guillermo, just like any other person, is entitled to the presumption of innocence. 

This decision came down nearly 3 weeks after Guillermo’s bond hearing took place, and just 10 days shy of Guillermo completing an intensive residential treatment program addressing his mental health and wellness. Guillermo is more than the government’s narrative. He is a community member, a loved one, and a person actively committed toward stability and healing. He deserves due process. He deserves fairness. He deserves access to treatment in his community, not incarceration. 

We refuse to accept this injustice in silence. Join the Justice for Guillermo Campaign on February 20, at 12PM at 630 Sansome Street in San Francisco as we gather in public action. We call for accountability, due process, and Guillermo’s immediate release. We call for a system that honors constitutional principles and ends the use of arrests as a default response to mental health crises. The Justice for Guillermo Campaign remains laser-focused on ensuring Guillermo is free from immigration detention and is reunited with his loved ones and community.”

Member organizations of the Justice for Guillermo Campaign include Pangea Legal Services, Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity, Services, Immigrant Rights & Education Network (SIREN), Kehilla Synagogue, Latinos Unidos por una Nueva América, California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice, Shalom Iglesia Del Pacto, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Planting Justice, California Coalition for Women Prisoners, Community Service Organization (CSO) San Jose, CSO Oakland, and the Legalization for All Network.

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