Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) has arrested Mexican boxer Julio C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez Jr in California and begun proceedings to deport him, citing cartel affiliations, multiple criminal convictions and an active arrest warrant in Mexico for weapons trafficking and organized crime.<\/p>\n
Ch\u00e1vez Jr, 39, the son of the legendary world champion Julio C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez Sr, was taken into custody by Ice agents on Tuesday in Studio City, a Los Angeles neighborhood known for celebrity residences. According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), he had been living in the US unlawfully and posed a significant threat to public safety.<\/p>\n
Nonetheless, just five days before his arrest, Ch\u00e1vez Jr was allowed to participate in a heavily promoted boxing match against YouTuber-turned-fighter Jake Paul in Anaheim. The fight promoter claimed that the match which Ch\u00e1vez Jr lost<\/a> to Paul proved to be the highest grossing boxing event ever held at Anaheim\u2019s Honda Center, with one outlet estimating it generated more than $1.5m in gate revenue.<\/p>\n Ch\u00e1vez Jr first entered the US legally on a six-month tourist visa in August 2023. He later filed for permanent residency in April 2024, citing marriage to a US citizen. That application raised alarms within federal agencies due to what officials described as \u201cmultiple fraudulent statements\u201d and connections to the Sinaloa cartel, a powerful drug trafficking organization labeled a foreign terrorist group by the Trump administration.<\/p>\n His arrest comes amid mounting political tension over the Biden administration\u2019s immigration enforcement policies. Internal DHS documents reportedly showed that although Ch\u00e1vez was flagged as an \u201cegregious public safety threat\u201d in December 2024, his removal was not prioritized. In January 2025, despite those warnings, Ch\u00e1vez was allowed reentry into the country at the San Ysidro port of entry in California under a discretionary parole process.<\/p>\n \u201cThis Sinaloa Cartel affiliate with an active arrest warrant for trafficking guns, ammunition, and explosives was arrested by Ice,\u201d said DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in a sharply worded statement. \u201cIt 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Federal officials allege Ch\u00e1vez Jr has longstanding ties to organized crime. In Mexico, he is wanted on charges of weapons trafficking and manufacturing explosives without authorization. In the United States, he has a criminal record dating back more than a decade. He was convicted of DUI in California in 2012, and more recently, in January 2024, he was convicted of illegal possession of an assault weapon and manufacturing or importing a short-barreled rifle.<\/p>\n