CHICAGO — A federal judge in Indiana has temporarily barred federal officials from deporting a Chicago man acquitted last month of charges he offered money for the killing of Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino.

U.S. District Judge James Patrick Hanlon issued the order as part of Juan Espinoza Martinez’s habeas corpus petition seeking a bond hearing pending immigration proceedings.

Espinoza Martinez, who has lived in Chicago for decades but is not a U.S. citizen, was taken into the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and transferred to a jail in Clay County, Indiana, on Jan. 23, a day after a federal jury found him not guilty of murder-for-hire.

In his order dated Tuesday, Hanlon, who was nominated to the federal bench by President Donald Trump in 2018, said “the weight” of court precedent favors Espinoza Martinez’s position, “that ICE’s authority to detain a noncitizen discovered within the country derives” from a statute that says petitioners are afforded a bond hearing and “not subject to mandatory detention.”

“The respondents shall not transfer (Espinoza Martinez) outside the jurisdiction of the United States or transfer him to any federal judicial district other than those in the States of Illinois, Indiana, or Wisconsin during the pendency of this habeas petition,” Hanlon wrote.

The judge gave the government until Friday to file a response.

Espinoza Martinez, 37, was charged in October with offering money in texts messages to a government informant for the kidnapping and killing of Bovino, the controversial public face of Operation Midway Blitz and other aggressive immigration-enforcement operations by the Trump administration in cities around the country.

When Espinoza Martínez was first arrested, he was labeled by the Department of Homeland Security as a high-ranking member of the Latin Kings street gang, someone who had the power to pay other gang members to commit murder of a top government official.

But those claims, repeated incessantly by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and other top Trump administration officials, dissolved in court, where no evidence was ever brought forth that he was in a gang, let alone a ranking member.

In fact, Espinoza Martínez, a married father of three, had a steady job, no gang tattoos, and no criminal history whatsoever, according to evidence at trial.

After a lightning-fast trial, the jury of six men and six women deliberated for about three hours before acquitting Espinoza Martínez of the one count that he faced.

After the verdict, Espinoza Martinez’s wife, Bianca Hernandez, told the Tribune the past 3 1/2 months have already taken a heavy emotional toll on the family. Now, with her husband facing possible deportation, Hernandez is currently the sole provider for the household, taking on caregiving and catering work to make ends meet.

Hernandez said her kids, who are U.S. citizens, never doubted their father’s innocence, but they still felt the weight of public judgment.

“They are devastated. They went from being happy and lively kids to now completely isolating themselves,” she said.

Hernandez last spoke to her husband after he was picked up by ICE.

“He just told me to keep my head up, talk to the kids and let them know that he’s fine.”

As they wait for answers, Hernandez said her husband is grateful for the support of the community and still holds onto hope.

“Hopefully we can just find a way to get him back home,” she said.

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