FILE - The Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse in Portland, Ore., Nov. 4, 2019.
Kaylee Domzalski / OPB
Immigration officers in Oregon were forced to release a Venezuelan man seeking asylum just hours after detaining him, following a hearing this week before a federal judge.
The case appears to pit the due process rights of asylum seekers against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. It comes days after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that migrants are entitled to due process rights and challenge the use of a wartime immigration law President Trump invoked last month.
Diego Armando Morales Jimenez, 34, reported to the regional U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Portland on Wednesday morning. He was detained until U.S. District Court Judge Mustafa Kasubhai ordered the agency to not remove him from Oregon. A spokesperson for ICE declined to comment citing pending litigation.
During a hearing Friday in Portland, Benjamin T. Hickman, an attorney representing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said Morales Jimenez was ordered to come into the Portland ICE office because immigration officials were once again investigating whether he was part of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
While Morales Jimenez previously lived in the city of Maracay, Venezuela, in the state of Aragua, he’s reportedly told immigration officials repeatedly that he has no ties to the group.
“I have no criminal history and I have never been associated with Tren de Aragua, or known anyone associated with Tren de Aragua, or any other criminal organization,” Morales Jimenez wrote in a signed declaration. “But now, I am also scared that I have been put on a list for detention and deportation because I am from the state of Aragua and because of the tattoos that I have, which just represent my children.”
Hickman said he spoke to ICE officials this week about the status of the investigation.
“I don’t have an answer yet,” Hickman told Kasubhai. He also informed the judge that the government is seeking to deport Morales Jimenez.
On Friday, the judge asked if ICE was planning to use the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to remove Morales Jimenez.
“Not at this time,” Hickman said. “If that changes, your honor, I’ll be the first to tell the court.”
Among other things, attorneys for Morales Jimenez argue the U.S. Constitution grants noncitizens due process during immigration proceedings.
Trump’s executive order
Last month, President Donald Trump escalated immigration enforcement, proclaiming in an executive order that the Venezuelan-based criminal organization Tren de Aragua was “conducting irregular warfare” against the United States. The order invoked the seldom-used Alien Enemies Act, which allows the executive to speed deportations, against Venezuelans the administration has accused of being affiliated with the gang.
Stephen Manning, an attorney with the Innovation Law Lab who is representing Jimenez, wrote in court documents that federal immigration officials “have adopted a ‘list’ or blanket policy directing ICE officials to detain certain Venezuelan nationals categorically regardless of the individualized fact or circumstances of the case.”
The executive order proclaims that any Venezuelans over the age of 14 who are members of the gang, and are not actually naturalized or lawful permanent residents of the U.S. “are liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured, and removed.”
While in Venezuela, Morales Jimenez opposed the regime of President Nicolas Maduro. Morales Jimenez was threatened at his home and beaten for participating in “peaceful political protests to support democracy, free elections and free speech,” court records state. He was labeled a “traitor” by Maduro’s regime.
Morales Jimenez arrived at a port of entry near El Paso, Texas, on March 30, 2024, to seek asylum. He was detained and then released, but required to wear an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet.
After he moved to Oregon, Morales Jimenez reported to the local ICE office in Portland, as part of the conditions of his release.
On July 23, 2024, Morales Jimenez said he was questioned by the FBI and ICE in Portland. He said they asked whether he was member of the Tren de Aragua gang. He said they also showed him pictures of people and told him if he could recognize them it would help his immigration case.
“I did not recognize anyone,” Morales Jimenez stated in his declaration. “The officers also asked me to take off my shirt to check for tattoos and they took pictures of the only two tattoos I have on my arms.”
He says his tattoos are the names of his children. One includes an image of two babies with a star and a heart, to honor his twins who died in childbirth.
By October, Morales Jimenez had complied to the point ICE officials removed his ankle monitor. He was then allowed to use an app on his phone that ICE used to track his whereabouts and “would have periodic virtual or telephonic interviews to which he faithfully complied,” according to Manning.
Morales Jimenez formally applied for asylum on Feb. 12, 2025, with his first appearance in Portland Immigration Court set for June 2026.
Currently, Morales Jimenez lives in Portland with his wife, who is six months pregnant. According to Manning’s filing, Morales Jimenez is concerned about his wife’s health, given the twins who died.
According to court filings by his attorney, Morales Jimenez has complied with all instructions from immigration authorities since he arrived at the southern border last year.
Oregon’s sanctuary law
Oregon is the oldest sanctuary state in the country. Since 1987, state law has blocked local and state resources from enforcing federal immigration law. Since Trump was first elected in 2016, Oregonians have voted to keep the law in place and state lawmakers have strengthened it. It now blocks local jails from contracting with ICE to hold immigration detainees. Oregon also funds programs that help immigrants access legal assistance, health care and housing.
After Trump was reelected last year, grassroots organizers turned toward building out a rapid response network to aid those targeted by federal immigration officials.
Natalie Lerner, with the Asylum Seeker Solidarity Collective, met Morales Jimenez after he arrived in Portland, and helped him get settled. Lerner said he called her Monday afternoon, after immigration officers asked that he report to the Portland ICE office. Lerner said she was able to relay the message to colleagues with the Equity Corp of Oregon who helped arrange for an immigration attorney to go along. Lerner was part of a small group who went to support Morales Jimenez on Wednesday morning when he reported to ICE.
“He called me 36 hours before the appointment and I think that made all the difference,” Lerner said. “This is part of how our legal systems are supposed to work.”
At Friday’s hearing, Hickman, the government attorney, said ICE agreed it would not detain Morales Jimenez for the next 30 days. For the time being, Kasubhai’s order prohibiting his removal from the state remains in effect. Another hearing is scheduled for early May.
