An immigrant who states he has been in the Moshannon Valley Processing Center for more than 16 months has filed a federal petition seeking his release.

David Pablo Reyes Ponce related that he was paroled into the United States in 2023, but in May 2024, he was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in Newark, N.J.

Ponce said he was placed in Moshannon Valley on May 14, 2024, and he is presently being held there pending the outcome of his immigration case.

Ponce does not want to return to his native Ecuador, noting he fears his life may be in danger, but he also charges that his rights under the Fourteenth, Fifth and Eighth Amendments have been violated by his prolonged detention.

He claims that he has been detained “without proper hearings or meaningful legal representation.”

The detainee explained that he suffers from mental health problems and is in solitary confinement “without necessary protocols to provide mental health treatment.”

Ponce stated his situation, as it is, represents a “clear violation of International Human Rights and U.S. Rights enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.”

He is seeking immediate release from immigration detention and seeks a declaration that his removal from the United States would violate the nation’s obligations under the International Convention Against Torture.

Ponce also is seeking an injunction enjoining ICE from detaining him.

In the alternative, he stated in his petition, he wants at least a bond hearing.

He also wants to be released from solitary confinement.

Ponce, who is acting as his own lawyer, stated needs “competent legal counsel.”

He explained in his petition that a deportation order was issued on Nov. 19, and in his request for asylum, he has yet to convince authorities that his life would be in danger if he is sent back home.

He predicts he will remain in detention until his request for asylum is concluded.

But, under the law, he argues, his detention for more than six months without at least a bond hearing violates the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment.

He argues because of such prolonged detention the burden shifts to the government “to prove by clear and convincing evidence” that his detention is warranted either because he is considered dangerous or he poses a flight risk.

“Without intervention by this court, my detention will continue, as my immigration case is ongoing,” he concluded. His petition was filed a week ago with the U.S. District Court in Johnstown.

The Ponce case has been assigned to United States Magistrate Judge Keith A. Pesto in Johnstown for further review.