LOS ANGELES — A week after ICE arrested Julio Cesar Chávez Jr., his whereabouts are still unclear.
At times, people detained by ICE don’t show up in the agency’s ‘detainee locator’ for several days while they are being processed into custody. Chávez Jr. has been detained by ICE for a week.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told USA TODAY that DHS didn’t have an update to share on Chávez Jr. when asked Wednesday for information on his detention and whether he will be deported — or formally extradited — to Mexico, where he faces weapons and drug trafficking charges.
Attorney Michael Goldstein, who represents Chávez Jr. for a case unrelated to the ICE arrest, told USA TODAY the Mexican boxer is in the custody of DHS. Two days ago, the attorney said he did not know if Chávez Jr. still was in the United States. Goldstein did not provide more information about Chávez Jr. on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, a woman answered the door at Chávez Jr.’s home in Studio City, a Los Angeles neighborhood, and said Chávez Jr.’s wife, Frida, had just left. The woman took a business card from a USA TODAY reporter and said she would give it to Chávez Jr.’s wife, but there has been no response from the Chávez family. No one answered the door at Chávez Jr.’s home Wednesday morning.
On Monday, Chávez Jr. missed a court hearing at the Los Angeles Superior Court Northwest Division stemming from an arrest on gun charges in 2024. Chávez Jr. was expected to ask for early release from a pretrial diversion that allowed him to enter a program for rehabilitative services rather than face prosecution.
Goldstein said he did not expect Chávez Jr. at the hearing because the former world champion had been taken into custody by the Department of Homeland Security the previous week.
Immediately after the hearing, Goldstein said he learned two days earlier that Chávez Jr. was in Hidalgo, Texas in the custody of DHS. When asked if Chávez Jr. is still in the United States, Goldstein told USA TODAY: ‘We have no idea. We have no information, unfortunately.’
Chávez Jr. was arrested July 2 and detained by U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement and was being processed for expedited removal from the United States, according to DHS.
DHS said Chávez Jr. is facing an active arrest warrant in Mexico for charges that include involvement with organized crime.
Chávez Jr.’s arrest came days after he fought celebrity boxer Jake Paul in Anaheim, California. A former world champion, Chávez Jr. lost by unanimous decision with his father, Hall of Fame boxer Julio Cesar Chávez Sr. in attendance.
USA TODAY reporter Pamela Avila contributed to this report.
