ICE Arrests Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. as Criminal Illegal Alien, Faces Mexican Arrest Warrant

By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent

Studio City, California (July 3rd, 2025)– Former World Boxing Council World Middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., 39, was arrested on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, in Studio City, California, and has been jailed in Los Angeles, California, as a criminal illegal alien, by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) pending deportation. Chavez Jr. had legally entered the United States on a tourist visa which expired in February 2024.

According to the United States Department of Homeland Security, Chavez Jr. has an active arrest warrant out for him in Mexico for his involvement in organized crime, trafficking firearms, ammunition and explosives. In a prepared statement released to the media and the general public, The United States Department of Homeland Security alleges on April 2, 2024, Chavez applied for Lawful Permanent Residency status. Chavez’s application was based on his marriage to a United States female citizen, who is connected to the Sinaloa Cartel through her prior relationship with the now-deceased son of the infamous cartel leader Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman.

This would imply by marriage, Chavez Jr. is guilty by association, which Chavez Jr. denies.

Official statement: On December 17, 2024, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services made a referral to ICE that Chavez was an egregious public safety threat. However, an entry into the Department of Homeland Security system law enforcement system under the Biden administration indicated Chavez was not an immigration enforcement priority.

On January 4, 2025, the Biden administration allowed Chavez to reenter the country and paroled him into the country at the San Ysidro port of entry. Following multiple fraudulent statements on his application to become a Lawful Permanent Resident, Chavez Jr. was determined to be in the country illegally and removable on the Friday he was weighing in for the Jake Paul fight (on June 28, 2025, at Honda Stadium in Anaheim, California). President Trump and United States Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem will not allow vicious cartels to operate on American soil.

“This Sinaloa Cartel affiliate with an active arrest warrant for trafficking guns, ammunition and explosives was arrested by ICE. It is shocking the previous Biden 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,” Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in the statement.

Chavez Jr. attorney Michael Goldstein, denies the allegations, and told the Associated Press Chavez was “picked up by a large number of federal agents while he was riding a scooter in front of his home in Studio City. The current allegations are outrageous, and simply another headline to terrorize the community.” Sean Gibbons, Chavez Junior’s advisor, described the arrest as a visa issue and when asked by text message if Chavez Junior was part of the Sinaloa cartel, Gibbons replied “Fu*k no.” Chavez, 54-7-1, 34 knockouts, Culican, Sinaloa, Mexico, came on strong in the final two rounds in his bout with Jake Paul, but lost the 10 rounder to Paul by scorecards of 99-91, 98-92 and 97-93.

UPDATE:

An indictment states FGR intercepted phone calls between December 2021 and June 2022, which detailed how “El Nini” ordered subordinates who made mistakes to be tied up and hanged so Chavez Jr. could beat them “like a punching bag.” Wiretaps of alleged drug traffickers and immigration records shared by U.S. agencies were presented as evidence.

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Robert Brizel - Head Boxing Correspondent
Robert Brizel - Head Boxing Correspondent
Robert is the Head Boxing Correspondent for Real Combat Media Boxing since 2013. Robert is also a photographer and ringside reporter for the RCM Tri State region which includes NJ, NY and PA. Robert conducts exclusive interviews, provides historical boxing articles and provides editorial ringside coverage of major boxing events. You can contact or follow Robert on Facebook and by email at [email protected].