Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. arrested by ICE agents, set for deportation from United States

03/07/2025 21:17

Just days after his boxing match against Jake Paul ended, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. has been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and he's set for deportation from the United States.

The Department of Homeland Security(DHS) announced the news Thursday after Chavez was detained.

Chavez is a Mexican citizen with the government claiming he has an "active arrest warrant in Mexico for his involvement in organized crime and trafficking firearms, ammunition, and explosives." In the press release regarding Chavez's arrest, DHS stated that the boxer is "believed to be an affiliate of the Sinaloa Cartel, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization."

He was arrested on July 2 in California.

DHS stated that Chavez filed for permanent resident status back in April 2024 and his application was based "on his marriage to a U.S. citizen, who is connected to the Sinaloa Cartel through a prior relationship with the now-deceased son of the infamous cartel leader Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman." In December 2025, DHS claims that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services "made a referral to ICE that Chavez is an egregious public safety threat" but the previous administration under President Joe Biden said that the boxer "was not an immigration enforcement priority."

In January 2025, Chavez was allowed to re-enter the United States but now ICE has arrested him "following multiple fraudulent statements on his application to become a Lawful Permanent Resident, he was determined to be in the country illegally and removable on June 27, 2025."

He is currently being expedited for removal from the U.S.

"This Sinaloa Cartel affiliate with an active arrest warrant for trafficking guns, ammunition, and explosives was arrested by ICE," DHS assistant aecretary Tricia McLaughlin It is shocking the previous administration flagged this criminal illegal alien as a public safety threat, but chose to not prioritize his removal and let him leave and COME BACK into our country.

"Under President [Donald] Trump, no one is above the law—including world-famous athletes. Our message to any cartel affiliates in the U.S. is clear: We will find you and you will face consequences. The days of unchecked cartel violence are over."

Prior to his arrest, Chavez suffered a unanimous decision loss to Paul this past Saturday in Anaheim. He remains in custody pending his deportation to Mexico.