A Massachusetts immigration judge granted release on bond to a Honduran man who was detained during the recent ICE raid in South Burlington.
Christian Humberto Jerez Andrade has been incarcerated since U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents stormed inside a residence where he was staying, in search of another man who wasn’t there.
Earlier this week, a federal judge in Burlington declined to release Jerez Andrade but ordered a bond hearing at Chelmsford Immigration Court. Judge Natalie Smith on Thursday ordered release on $10,000 bond.
Jerez Andrade’s attorney, Nathan Virag, said in an email that he expects his client will be released soon. The Vermont Freedom Fund, a volunteer-run bail fund, will post bond, volunteer Lisa Barrett said.
The order will reunite Jerez Andrade with his 18-year-old nephew, José Jerez, who was inside the Dorset Street home and described his uncle as his primary father figure.
But the federal government also began deportation proceedings against Jerez Andrade following his detention. That case will continue.
Jerez Andrade has been living in the United States since 2015, primarily working in construction. He claims to have fled Honduras after serving in the military there, which made him a target for retribution in the politically volatile country.
Virag said his client will pursue all legal avenues to remain in the country. He has a long-term partner in Louisiana and a 6-year-old child who, like his nephew, is a U.S. citizen. Jerez Andrade moved to Vermont last fall, and recently was employed as a laborer helping to construct the new Burlington High School building.
His request for release was complicated by his 2021 conviction for domestic abuse involving his current partner, who has supported his case. He also had a record of arrest warrants out of Louisiana and Florida.
An attorney representing the federal government argued for Jerez Andrade’s continued detention. He noted that someone driving a vehicle associated with the Dorset Street address struck an unmarked ICE vehicle while fleeing from agents on the morning of the raid. The attorney did not say who the government believed was driving that car.
Virag said Jerez Andrade sat for an hourslong voluntary interrogation by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents on Wednesday.
He told the judge that Jerez Andrade will continue to work upon his release, and will live with local residents who have offered to allow Jerez Andrade and his nephew to stay in their home.
“Many community members have offered to house him,” Virag said, “since the residence that was broken into is destroyed.”
Two Ecuadorian women with active asylum claims were also detained during the raid. A U.S. District Court judge released Johana Patin Patin on Monday, ruling that ICE had violated her constitutional rights. Her 20-year-old sister, Daysi Camila Patin Patin, has a hearing scheduled for Friday afternoon.
