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OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
6:08 PM – Thursday, July 3, 2025
Federal immigration authorities detained Mexican boxer Julio César Chávez Jr. on Wednesday outside his residence in the Studio City area of Los Angeles.
According to a statement released on Thursday by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the arrest was carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents pursuant to an active arrest warrant issued in Mexico.
ICE alleges that the 39-year-old WBC middleweight world champion is implicated in organized criminal activities, including the trafficking of firearms, ammunition, and explosives. Additionally, the DHS says that Chávez is affiliated with the Sinaloa Cartel, which has been designated as a foreign terrorist group by President Donald Trump.
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Michael A. Goldstein, Chávez’s attorney, referred to the serious cartel allegations as “outrageous and simply another headline to terrorize the community.”
According to Goldstein, more than 25 federal agents surrounded Chávez’s home on Wednesday. “They blocked off his street and took him into custody without informing his family,” he added in a statement.
The DHS also noted that Chávez is being processed “for expedited removal from the United States.”
Chávez is also currently facing an ongoing weapons-related case in Los Angeles County.
According to his attorney, a lower court granted him eligibility for a mental health diversion program, which could ultimately result in the dismissal of the charges. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) had arrested Chávez back in 2023 on firearms charges.
Goldstein emphasized that Chávez has remained in full compliance with all court-mandated conditions associated with the diversion program, which has afforded him the opportunity to receive critical mental health treatment.
Chávez captured the WBC middleweight title in June 2011 and successfully defended it three times. However, most recently, he suffered a defeat at the hands of influencer-turned-boxer Jake Paul in a 10-round cruiserweight fight held on Saturday at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
As a native of Sinaloa, Mexico, who began his professional career in 2002 at just 17-years-old, Chávez is the son of a legendary multi-division world boxing champion, Julio César Chávez González, widely known as Julio César Chávez Sr.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported that Chávez entered the United States in August 2023 on a B-2 tourist visa, valid through 2024. He subsequently filed an application for lawful permanent residency, citing his marriage to a U.S. citizen. However, the department also alleged that his spouse had ties to the Sinaloa Cartel through a previous relationship with the now-deceased son of notorious cartel leader Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.
In December, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services referred Chávez to ICE, designating him as an “egregious public safety threat,” according to DHS. Despite this, he was permitted to re-enter the United States in January via the San Ysidro Port of Entry near San Diego.
ICE maintains that he is suspected of making several “fraudulent statements” on his application for lawful permanent residence, “which deemed him removable from the United States on June 27,” NBC News stated.
“This Sinaloa Cartel affiliate with an active arrest warrant for trafficking guns, ammunition, and explosives was arrested by ICE. 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,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated. “Under President 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.”
Meanwhile, the 39-year-old Mexican boxer’s detention follows a recent wave of federal immigration enforcement actions across the Los Angeles area, coinciding with renewed political focus on combating illegal immigration and tackling foreign terrorism, a central theme of President Donald Trump’s agenda of his second term.
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