An immigrant from Guatemala, who has been detained in the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Clearfield County since his arrest by ICE agents in February, is entitled to a bond hearing, according to U.S. District Judge William S. Stickman IV.

The judge this week ordered that Fredy Rene Lopez Jimenez, 31, is to have a hearing within 10 days of his April 21 ruling, and that he be informed by the immigration judge who conducts the hearing as to its outcome.

The Jimenez case is unusual in that he has been in the United States for nine years without a visa, a reentry permit, a border crossing card, a passport, or any other acceptable identity document.

In the federal petition filed two weeks ago by his attorney, Brittany S. Pierce of Charlotte, N.C., it stated Jimenez “has lived and worked in the U.S. without incident or any immigration enforcement involvement for over nine years, until ICE stopped and arrested him on his way to work Feb. 23.”

Jimenez, according to the petition filed by Pierce, was in a vehicle with other individuals when it was stopped by Glassport Police for a traffic violation.

ICE agents were in the Glassport area that day and were informed that Jimenez was a noncitizen.

He was taken to Moshannon Valley based on a new ICE policy that considers undocumented individuals as “applicants for admission” to the United States — even though they have been in the country for many years, as was the case for Jimenez.

ICE maintains that because of his status, Jimenez is subject to “mandatory detention.”

Jimenez in his federal petition claims he is being held illegally without due process of law and that his incarceration is in violation of the federal Administrative Procedure Act and the Immigration and Nationality Act.

His petition, filed in the U.S. District Court in Johnstown, sought his immediate release or a court-ordered bond hearing.

Stickman, in his review of the case, pointed out that Jimenez is arguing that he is subject to “discretionary detention,” not “mandatory detention,” and that he is entitled to a bond hearing.

“The Court agrees,” Stickman ruled.

The judge explained the section of immigration law that applies to the mandatory detention of noncitizens is applicable to individuals seeking admission at the port of entry, not to those already present in the United States.

“Petitioner’s detention is governed by (a section of the law) that holds that he has a right to an individualized bond hearing,” Stickman concluded.

Under such a hearing, the government would be required to prove Jimenez was either a flight risk or danger to the community to deny bond.

The issue however is somewhat confusing because two circuit courts have ruled in favor of the government’s interpretation that would require mandatory detention for noncitizens “applying for admission” to the United States even though they have been in the country for a length of time.

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia, which has jurisdiction over the courts in western Pennsylvania, has yet to rule on the issue.

The judge explained, the Third Circuit has not yet interpreted the meaning of “applicant for admission.” However, he noted, two United States Courts of Appeals — the Fifth Circuit (New Orleans) and the Eighth Circuit (St. Louis) — have ruled that “‘applicant for admission’ includes noncitizens like the petitioner who have resided in the interior of the country for years.”