A federal magistrate judge insisted Thursday that a man caught up in President Donald Trump’s deportation campaign in Elgin this week poses “no danger to the community that I see … whatsoever” as she considered whether to keep him behind bars.
Ultimately, U.S. Magistrate Judge Keri Holleb Hotaling ordered the release of Carlos Augusto Gonzalez-Leon after arranging certain conditions to help court officials keep an eye on him. But she also suggested she’d been given limited information about his past.
The detention hearing at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse offered a rare glimpse into the background and circumstances of a man caught up in the Homeland Security deportation campaigns aimed at Chicago, known as “Operation Midway Blitz” and “Operation At Large.”
Gonzalez-Leon was one of five people arrested Tuesday during a raid for which Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem seemed to be present. An American citizen was also briefly detained during the event, which Noem promoted in a video on social media.
Homeland Security touted the arrest of Gonzalez-Leon in a later news release, calling him “a criminal illegal alien from Mexico, convicted of assault of a family member causing bodily harm.”
Texas court records appear to confirm that Gonzalez-Leon was sentenced in 2013 to 60 days behind bars for such an assault. He’s a Mexican citizen who has now been charged in federal court with unlawful reentry into the United States.
He’d previously been deported in 2013 and 2022, according to a criminal complaint in Chicago’s federal court. Law enforcement surveilled Gonzalez-Leon in Elgin twice last week, records show.
Lawyers revealed Thursday that Gonzalez-Leon’s wife is “bedridden” in hospice, but that he also has several family members in Mexico. Assistant U.S. Attorney Saqib Hussain argued Gonzalez-Leon might flee the country if released. At one point, the prosecutor mentioned that Gonzalez-Leon was living in a basement in Elgin “with people who he did not know.”
“What is your point?” Hotaling shot back. “Because he rents a room? Which people do, right? U.S. citizens rent rooms in a house all the time.”
Hussain argued it showed questionable ties to the community, but Hotaling’s skepticism continued. She insisted that a report she’d been given about Gonzalez-Leon documented a “criminal history of nothing.” She said she didn’t want to speculate about his background.
“I’ve never seen a report this short,” Hotaling said.
Hotaling eventually ordered Gonzalez-Leon released on conditions that included location monitoring and the surrender of his Mexican passport. He is not allowed to leave the region that makes up the Northern District of Illinois.
Magistrate judges like Hotaling are judicial officers who often preside over initial proceedings in a criminal case, such as Thursday’s detention hearing. Hotaling has served in the role for about two years.
Defense attorney Daniel Hesler also cited the possibility of a separate U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer during the hearing. He said he planned to write his phone number on Gonzalez-Leon’s arm, so his client knows how to reach him no matter what happens after he’s released.