ACLU seeks release of Michigan immigrant held in custody despite life-threatening leukemia

Federal authorities refuse to release a Michigan man in a pending deportation case, despite his life-threatening leukemia and the inconsistent health care he’s received while in custody since August, his lawyer said Thursday.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan is seeking a bond hearing for Jose Contreras-Cervantes, which could allow him to return to his Detroit-area family and doctors while his case winds through immigration court. He’s currently being held at a detention center about three hours away.

Contreras-Cervantes, a 33-year-old married father of three who has been living in the U.S. for about 20 years, but not legally, was arrested following an Aug. 5 traffic stop in Macomb County, near Detroit. He had no criminal record, said ACLU lawyer Miriam Aukerman.

Contreras-Cervantes was diagnosed last year with chronic myeloid leukemia, a life-threatening cancer of the bone marrow, said his wife, Lupita Contreras.

“The doctor said he has four to six years to live,” she said.

His detention is a consequence of the Trump administration’s policy of refusing to agree to bond hearings for immigrants if they entered the U.S. illegally, even if they lack a criminal record. The policy is a reversal of past practices and it has been successfully challenged, including this week in Washington state.

“We don’t just lock people up and throw away the key,” Aukerman said. “Judges decide who should be behind bars. That is true for citizens and noncitizens. … Immigration cases can take months or even years.”

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had no immediate comment on the case.

Contreras-Cervantes was shuttled from Michigan to Ohio and then back to Michigan and didn’t receive medication for 22 days, his wife said.

He is now getting a substitute medication at North Lake Processing Center, a privately operated detention center in Baldwin, Michigan, not the specific medication recommended by his doctors, Aukerman said.

The ACLU filed a petition Monday in U.S. District Court in Detroit, asking a judge to order bond hearings for Contreras-Cervantes and seven other people who are in custody.

“What the (Trump) administration is doing is trying to crush people’s spirits, make them give up” and agree to deportation, Aukerman said. “We’re saying no. They’re entitled to due process.”