Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr’s family has requested privacy and support from afar, while his attorney has dismissed the U.S. authorities’ actions against the former 160lbs titlist as a headline grabber.

Mexico’s Chavez Jnr was arrested and detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Wednesday near his home in Studio City, California. A press release issued by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claimed that the second-generation boxer, “following multiple fraudulent statements on his application to become a Lawful Permanent Resident... was determined to be in the country illegally and removable on June 27, 2025.”

According to that timeline, Chavez Jnr was labeled as a criminal as he made weight for his cruiserweight clash with Jake Paul last weekend in Anaheim, California. Authorities insisted in its declaration that the 39-year-old is an affiliate of the Sinaloa Cartel, a drug trafficking crime syndicate identified by U.S. president Donald Trump as a foreign terrorist organization.

His legal team insists the matter is unnecessary hyperbole.

“The current allegations are outrageous and simply another headline to terrorize the community,” Michael Goldstein, Chavez’s attorney, told the Associated Press (AP).

DHS claimed that Chavez, 54-7-1 (34 KOs) has an outstanding warrant in Mexico for his alleged involvement in organized crime and trafficking firearms, ammunition, and explosives. He is also due to appear in court on Monday on a separate weapons possession charge from 2024.

The report from DHS detailed that ICE identified Chavez as “an egregious public safety threat. However, an entry in a DHS law enforcement system under the [previous U.S. president Joe] Biden administration indicated Chavez was not an immigration enforcement priority.”

Chavez was permitted by the Biden administration to re-enter the U.S. on January 4 and “paroled him into the country at the San Ysidro port of entry.”

It was known that Chavez was training in Southern California for his abovementioned fight with Paul, and permitted to go through with the DAZN Pay-Per-View event before authorities acted on the active arrest warrant. ICE officials moved in once they confirmed that Chavez provided “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.”

Chavez lost a ten-round, unanimous decision to Paul (12-1, 7 KOs), who is now ranked in the WBA top 15 at cruiserweight based on that victory.

The defeat snapped a modest two-fight win streak for Chavez, a former WBC middleweight titleholder who’s struggled for more than a decade to be relevant at the contender level. He is just 4-5 in his past nine starts spread over eight years, though his out-of-ring issues past and present far exceed his boxing downfalls.

Chavez is now at a point where he literally has to fight for his freedom.

“Our family is deeply saddened by the current situation,” the Chavez family said in a joint statement provided to BoxingScene and other media outlets. “In these difficult times, we reiterate our total and unconditional support for Julio. We fully trust in his innocence and his humanity, as well as in the justice institutions of both Mexico and the United States, in whom we place our hope that this situation will be clarified according to law and truth.

“Julio is, above all, a son, a father, and a human being who has faced multiple challenges in his personal and professional life. As a family, we respectfully ask that due process be guaranteed and that premature judgments that violate his dignity and that of those around him be avoided.

“We sincerely appreciate the media's interest and coverage, but we appeal to your sensitivity and understanding to respect our decision not to issue further statements at this time. We firmly believe that the appropriate course of action is to allow the competent authorities to carry out their work without external pressure or speculation. We pray for a prompt resolution that clarifies the facts in Julio's favor, and we reiterate our call for prudence, respect, and objectivity.”

Chavez’s detainment comes amidst the nation’s alarmingly aggressive approach to immigration in the U.S. Protests and riots have broken out across the country, including Southern California, in opposition to the tactics rolled out by the Trump administration.

Jake Donovan is an award-winning journalist who served as a senior writer for BoxingScene from 2007-2024, and news editor for the final nine years of his first tour. He was also the lead writer for The Ring before his decision to return home. Follow Jake on  and .