Legal team says Reyes was taken by federal agents outside his home on Valentine’s Day
by Béatrice Vallières February 18, 2026 (MissionLocal.org)
After months of fighting efforts by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain him, Bay Area activist Guillermo Medina Reyes was arrested by federal agents on Valentine’s Day, his legal team said.
Reyes was arrested outside his San Jose home and processed through the ICE field office in Stockton before being taken to the California City Detention Facility, a former prison in California City currently used for ICE detention, according to his supporters.
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ICE did not respond to a request for comment on the case.
Reyes is an outspoken advocate against immigration detention.
In 2022, while detained by ICE at Golden State Annex, a for-profit detention facility operated by the GEO group in McFarland, California, he participated in labor and hunger strikes to protest conditions inside. He was a named plaintiff in a lawsuit against the GEO Group over alleged forced labor and wage theft.
He was released in 2023. ICE announced its intention to re-detain Reyes in May 2025 after he was arrested for vandalism. He was arrested again in August after police said he attempted three carjackings.
Reyes has been fighting ICE in court since May. His lawyers said he was being unfairly targeted due to his advocacy against the agency. His case became a rallying point for immigration activists in San Francisco, who have been organizing demonstrations at his court appearances for months.
In July, a federal judge ruled that the agency could not detain Reyes until he was granted a bond hearing before an immigration judge, a decision Reyes’ lawyers heralded as a victory for immigrants’ right to due process.
Reyes’ bond hearing took place on Jan. 23 in front of San Francisco immigration Judge Steven Kirchner at the immigration court at 630 Sansome St. Dozens of Reyes’ supporters attended and staged an hours-long demonstration outside the building, holding signs and chanting.
Judge Kirchner issued a decision on Feb. 13, ordering Reyes’ re-detention without bond, said Lisa Knox, who is part of his legal team.
Knox called the decision a “horrendous injustice.” She said that Reyes’ attorneys were not told what evidence the judge was considering in his decision, nor were they allowed to challenge any of the evidence that was presented against him in court.
“We’re looking into legal options to possibly appeal or have a court review that decision,” she said.
From Mexico to ICE detention to organizing
Born in Mexico, Reyes was brought to the United States at age 6. He was convicted of attempted murder for a crime he committed at 16, and served more than 12 years in prison.
Reyes was transferred to ICE custody in 2021. He spent more than a year in ICE detention, and was finally released on bond in 2023, when an immigration judge determined he was not a danger to the community nor a flight risk, his lawyers said.
Since then, the 31-year-old has worked as a tattoo artist in San Jose and as a community organizer advocating for immigrants’ rights, friends said.
In May, after Reyes was arrested on vandalism charges, during what his lawyers described as an episode of mental illness, ICE notified Reyes’ lawyers of its intention to detain him at his next immigration appointment.
Reyes fought back. In June, his lawyers filed a habeas corpus petition and a civil complaint in federal court to prevent ICE from detaining him.
Later that month, U.S. District Court Judge Rita Lin granted Reyes a temporary restraining order against ICE, shortly followed by a preliminary injunction barring the agency from re-detaining Reyes until an immigration judge could rule on the agency’s right to detain him.
He was able to temporarily remain out of ICE detention, but had to wear a GPS ankle monitor.
In late July, Reyes was reportedly arrested again in Berkeley and taken for a mental evaluation at a local hospital after police said he attempted three carjackings.
His lawyers argued that the arrest followed another episode of mental illness; Reyes said the recent immigrant crackdown and the possibility he could be sent to ICE detention triggered the episode.
Speaking to the crowd before his bond hearing on Jan. 23, Reyes described his stay in ICE detention as worse than prison, and called the detention conditions “inhumane.”
“The racist treatment by the guards, the lack of medical and mental care, working for eight hours a day, and only being paid $1 surely made me want to go back to prison,” Reyes said.
“For people who are at risk of being detained or deported, it’s like being hunted. And I cannot imagine what that feels like every single day,” said Stephanie Jayne, Reyes’ friend, who was present at the rally on Jan. 23.
Jayne said she met Reyes in 2023 during a walk from San Jose to San Francisco to advocate for a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.
“The system has not treated him kindly, and he has still come out of that with a heart that is just welcoming people in and fighting for others,” she said.
Advocates said his case also highlights what they say is the unfair punishment applied to immigrants with criminal records.
“For U.S. citizens, even with a criminal record, they don’t get exiled or kicked out of the country. This is the second punishment that is only applied to immigrants,” said Ezperanza Cuautle, co-director of Pangea Legal Services, which represents Reyes in court.
“They should have the right to a second chance to be able to reintegrate into the community and to be able to thrive with their family members.”
Reyes’ deportation case is still ongoing, but it could take years before it is resolved, said Knox. In the meantime, “we’re continuing to push to look for avenues for his immediate release,” she said.
His supporters are planning a rally Friday at the immigration court at 630 Sansom St. to protest his arrest.
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Béatrice Vallières
Béatrice is a reporting intern covering immigration and the Tenderloin. She studied linguistics at McGill University before turning to journalism and getting a master’s degree from Columbia Journalism School.More by Béatrice Vallières
