JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A federal judge has ordered immigration officials to give a Venezuelan man who worked as a St. Johns County school custodian an individualized bond hearing or release him within seven days.
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The order, issued Nov. 1 by U.S. District Judge James Klindt in Jacksonville, grants Leonel Armando Bolivar Linares’ petition on his claim that mandatory detention without an individualized bond hearing violates the Immigration and Nationality Act.
If officials release Bolivar Linares, they must provide access to a telephone so he can arrange transportation from the detention facility, the order says.
Bolivar Linares, 29, is being held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at a facility in New Mexico. He was transferred there after initially being detained in Florida, court records show.
He was detained Aug. 6 while on his way to work for the St. Johns County School District.
The judge denied Bolivar Linares’ request to be returned to Florida but said the court retained jurisdiction over his case after his transfer.
The order does not grant immediate release; it gives the government the option of providing the bond hearing instead.
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