BURLINGTON — A federal judge in Burlington ordered that José Ignacio “Nacho” De La Cruz, a longtime Migrant Justice organizer who faces multiple federal charges, be released Thursday pending a trial.
Magistrate Judge Kevin J. Doyle was skeptical of the government’s argument that De La Cruz could not be released. Although the government argued that De La Cruz posed a flight risk no matter what conditions were put on his release, Magistrate Judge Kevin J. Doyle chose to release him on supervision by the United States Probation Office.
De La Cruz will not be allowed to leave Vermont without permission, among other conditions.
De La Cruz was arrested by Border Patrol agents outside his workplace last week and charged with helping people cross the border without authorization in exchange for money and helping obtain Vermont driver’s privilege cards for people who did not live in Vermont. He was also charged with conspiring with others to help people cross the border and to produce false identity documents. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.
One co-defendant in the case, Armando Paulino Estudillo, was arraigned Wednesday on charges of helping people cross the border and conspiracy in the same case. Estudillo pleaded not guilty. He remains detained.
In front of a courtroom packed with De La Cruz’s supporters Thursday, the government’s lawyer, Joshua Banker, argued that De La Cruz’s community and familial ties to the Burlington area had “started to fray a little bit” since his arrest, giving him less incentive to stay in the country.
De La Cruz’s lawyer, Barclay Johnson, pushed back.
“I can’t say, looking back into the (court) gallery, that the ties and support have lessened,” Johnson said, referencing the crowd of community members who had showed up to support De La Cruz.
The judge seemed to agree with Johnson.
“He has substantial ties to the Burlington area community,” Doyle said when explaining the factors informing his decision to release De La Cruz.
Johnson also pushed back against the government’s argument that the seriousness of the charges made De La Cruz a flight risk. He pointed out that the government had accused De La Cruz of similar offenses in July 2025, and that De La Cruz had chosen to stay in Vermont with his family and continue to fight his immigration case, even knowing that the government had obtained a warrant to search his phone and intended to investigate him.
In court filings, Johnson added that the government’s lack of urgency in arresting De La Cruz further undercut their argument that he is at risk of fleeing, saying they had waited seven months to obtain an indictment and an additional month after the indictment before arresting De La Cruz.
Banker, the government’s lawyer, said the delay was due to the government conducting a thorough investigation as well as difficulty in locating De La Cruz’s address after the indictment.
The judge also challenged the government’s argument that De La Cruz had the financial resources to flee, saying they had provided no evidence of that and that it contradicted a financial affidavit showing De La Cruz to be of fairly modest means.
The case against De La Cruz appears to stem largely from his detention last summer. In June, he and his stepdaughter were both detained for nearly a month after a Border Patrol agent stopped their vehicle in northern Vermont. The pair’s lawyer argued at the time that the stop could amount to racial profiling. Both De La Cruz and his stepdaughter were later released on bond by an immigration judge.
After De La Cruz was detained, Border Patrol agents noted that he might be a match for an individual in a deportation case, according to an affidavit filed by Border Patrol agent David T. Palczewski. In that case, a woman had communicated with someone named “Nacho” about assistance crossing the border from Canada into the U.S, according to the affidavit.
Agents seized De La Cruz’s cellphone, and the government later obtained a warrant to search it. Much of the evidence the government has so far brought forward in De La Cruz’s case stems from the search of the cellphone, according to court documents.
After Thursday’s hearing, De La Cruz’s lawyers said that evidence from the phone may not be admissible in court due to questions about the June traffic stop.
Federal Public Defender Alejandro Fernandez, who is on De La Cruz’s legal team, said the case may also raise questions about evidence that arises from digital surveillance.
“Embedded in all of this is the increasing surveillance we are all subject to,” he said, which he said may raise Fourth Amendment questions in the case.
After his release, De La Cruz embraced supporters outside the courthouse, sporting mustard yellow sneakers his partner had brought for him to change into.
“We are extremely pleased to be welcoming Nacho back,” said Migrant Justice organizer Will Lambek. “He is innocent until proven guilty on these charges.”
While Lambek referred any specific questions about the case to De La Cruz’s legal team, he said Migrant Justice has never been involved in assisting people in crossing the border without authorization, or in helping people falsely obtain Vermont driver’s privilege cards.
This story was republished with permission from VtDigger, which offers its reporting at no cost to local news organizations through its Community News Sharing Project. To learn more, visit vtdigger.org/community-news-sharing-project.