On Friday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum addressed the possibility of boxer Julio César Chávez Jr. being deported to Mexico to serve his sentence for weapons trafficking and organized crime. Chávez, a former middleweight boxing champion, was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Los Angeles following a reported discovery of his illegal presence in the country. Sheinbaum confirmed the administration’s hope that Chávez would be sent back to Mexico to face the charges he faces, which include allegations of involvement in arms and drug trafficking.
Chávez’s deportation request comes after he was arrested in February by ICE following his illegal overstaying of a tourist visa. He entered the U.S. in August 2023 on a tourist visa that expired in February 2024, and authorities discovered his false documents for residency based on a fraudulent application that claimed his marriage to a U.S. citizen. Chávez has faced multiple charges over the years, including a 2012 incident where he was found drunk driving, leading to a 13-day jail sentence and probation. More recently, in January 2024, he was arrested again for suspected ties to organized crime and weapons trafficking, with authorities charging him with illegally possessing an assault weapon and manufacturing a short-barreled rifle.
Authorities have also suggested that Chávez may be linked to the Sinaloa Cartel, a major drug trafficking group designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. His application for residency, which was initially denied, was later approved by the Biden administration in January 2025 after it was determined that he was not a priority for immigration enforcement. However, the decision to allow his reentry has drawn criticism, as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security previously identified him as an “egregious public safety threat.” Despite this, the administration opted to parole him into the country at the San Ysidro port of entry, raising questions about the prioritization of immigration enforcement cases involving high-profile individuals and organized crime.