Opinion ID: 4208265
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Plaintiff Matias

Text: Cesar Matias was born in Honduras on September 9, 1978. 11 Matias is a gay man who fled Honduras to escape persecution on account of his sexual orientation. He has resided in Los Angeles since May 2005, when he first entered the United States. Prior to his detention, he worked as a hairstylist and in a clothing factory. He avers that he spent all of his earnings on basic necessities and has no savings or any other significant assets. At some point, he suffered a conviction for possession of a controlled substance and was given a deferred judgment for driving without a license. He was also arrested twice, but not convicted, on prostitution charges. On March 29, 2012, Matias was taken into ICE custody and was interviewed by an ICE officer at a processing center in downtown Los Angeles. When the ICE officer informed him that he would be detained, Matias asked whether he could be released on bond. The officer responded that he could ask the IJ, without asking Matias any questions about his financial resources or the amount of bond he could afford. That same day, ICE issued a Notice to Appear, initiating removal proceedings against Matias. Seven months later, Matias appeared for a bond hearing before an IJ. During the hearing, the IJ did not ask any questions about Matias’s ability to obtain a bond or his financial circumstances. At the end of the hearing, the IJ set bond at $3,000. 11 The government states that Matias’s “true identity, including his name and date of birth, citizenship, and nationality, are unknown.” Matias has presented false documents and testimony to police, ICE officials, and border officials regarding his name and nationality. HERNANDEZ V. SESSIONS 15 Three months after the bond hearing, Matias requested to be released from detention to retrieve documents that would help his case. The IJ refused to reduce his bond and stated that the bond amount was “pretty generous.” The IJ also noted that she could not consider reducing the bond amount absent a formal motion. Eighteen months after denying that release request, the IJ conducted another bond hearing on Matias’s motion. At that hearing, she stated that Matias’s bond was “reasonable” and ordered that it remain at $3,000, without inquiring as to Matias’s financial circumstances or indicating that she considered alternative conditions of release. When asked by the Immigration Judge if he wanted to appeal, Matias responded: “No. I prefer to be detained.” Sixteen months later, the IJ conducted another bond hearing for Matias. The IJ again did not question Matias about his financial circumstances, and ordered that bond remain at $3,000. 12 Finally, more than four years after he was first detained, Matias was released from ICE custody when a local community organization, Community Initiatives for Visiting Immigrants in Confinement, raised enough money for him to post his bond.