Community Pressure and a Temporary Restraining Order Successfully Prevent ICE from Re-Detaining Local Community Organizer & Tattoo Artist
- CCIJ
- Jul 1
- 3 min read
Updated: Jul 16
Media Contacts: Esperanza Cuautle, esperanza[@]pangealegal.org; 415-271-5644
Alex Mensing, alex[@]ccijustice.org, 415-684-5463
For Immediate Release
July 1, 2025
Photo & video available for media use here:
ICE intended to re-detain beloved Bay Area community member Guillermo Medina Reyes who has been rebuilding his life after incarceration
The night before his July 1st 8:00am immigration appointment, U.S. District Judge Rita Lin granted a Temporary Restraining Order to enjoin the government from re-detaining him
Over 100 community members accompanied Guillermo to his appointment in San José
San José, CA — Over 100 supporters cheered this morning when Guillermo Medina Reyes, a beloved Bay Area community member, local tattoo artist, and community organizer, rejoined to the crowd outside a building in South San José he had entered over an hour earlier for an appointment with Immigration & Customs Enforcement’s Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (ISAP). The federal agency had said they planned to arrest and detain him, but after overwhelming community support and the last-minute granting by United States District Judge Rita F. Lin of a Temporary Restraining Order to enjoin the government from re-arresting and re-detaining him, Guillermo is able to stay with his community for at least another two weeks.
“I really appreciate the support and everybody showing up and coming together. Thank you. Community power saved me from being detained today,” said Guillermo Medina Reyes. “Everything and all the effort everybody puts in is worth it. I hope that everybody understands that when there’s an injustice, don’t stay quiet. Don’t let ICE do whatever they want. Everything is possible when we come together as people and we come together as a family.”
Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) did, however, place more burdensome and restrictive surveillance measures on Guillermo, including a GPS-equipped ankle shackle, more frequent check-ins, and a tight geographic limit to his mobility, conditions that Guillermo’s legal representative considers to be potential violations of the Temporary Restraining Order.
“ICE has dramatically increased the frequency with which Guillermo has to check in to the office and do home check-ins and virtual checkins, they’ve put a GPS shackle on his ankle, and they’ve placed severe restrictions on his mobility–even crossing the Golden Gate Bridge would be a violation,” said Victoria Sun, Co-Director and Immigration Attorney with Pangea Legal Services who represents Guillermo. “As Guillermo has experienced before, these GPS ankle monitors - really they are shackles. They cause blisters and pain, and they label someone as an ‘other.’ These escalations by ICE appear to be retaliation against Guillermo for exercising his right to file a habeas corpus petition, seek a Temporary Restraining Order, and organizing community support in opposition to ICE’s attempt to re-detain him.”
“The fight is not over. It is far from over. We already know ICE is escalating. Every time we put up a fight, we can expect ICE to escalate,” said Esperanza Cuautle, Co-Director and Organizer at Pangea Legal Services. “But every time they want to escalate, we are going to show up louder. We are going to show up stronger. We are going to show up more united and more ignited.”
The Temporary Restraining Order is in place until July 14, 2025, at which point there will be a preliminary injunction hearing. Community members vowed to continue supporting Guillermo and to advocate for freedom for all. During his appointment, supporters waiting outside told stories about Guillermo and spoke about ICE plans to re-open the abuse-plagued FCI Dublin prison as an immigrant detention center, about other cases of ICE arrests such as Ulises Peña, and about the importance of resisting increasing state violence.
Guillermo has lived in the United States since he was about 6 years old. However, since he was born in another country, Guillermo experienced the injustice of double punishment when he was transferred to ICE detention after serving a prison sentence instead of being given the opportunity to reenter society freely.
While in ICE custody at Golden State Annex (GSA) for over a year, Guillermo constantly defended his rights and those of the people around him. Guillermo participated in a labor strike to call for detained immigrants to be paid the minimum wage as mandated in California, he co-organized a month-long hunger strike, and he collaborated with numerous human rights organizations to expose the violence, medical neglect, and systemic rights violations carried out on a daily basis by ICE and by GEO Group officers. As a named plaintiff in several lawsuits, he played a key role in holding ICE and GEO accountable for their abuses.
In 2023, Guillermo was released from ICE custody on bond and has continued to dedicate himself to transformation, healing, and community care. He has built meaningful relationships, contributed through art and advocacy, and taken intentional steps to heal from the trauma of incarceration and detention.
