A Soldotna resident is being held in an out-of-state federal detention center, in what his attorney wrote Wednesday is a violation of his rights.
Francisco Rodriguez-Rincon, 47, owns Señor Panchos and Sol Agave in Soldotna. Both restaurants were suddenly shuttered in late May, with a handwritten sign outside one location reading “closed permanently.”
Rodriguez-Rincon is facing federal charges for allegations that he is illegally in the United States, but was ordered released from custody in April by a federal chief magistrate judge, according to federal court documents. New filings by Rodriguez-Rincon’s attorney say he was seized by the Department of Homeland Security and taken to a detention center in Washington state in a move that violates of his statutory rights and impinges his constitutional rights.
“The Executive Branch has a choice to make: either it can proceed with this criminal case against Mr. Rodriguez-Rincon or it can proceed with his removal,” Assistant Federal Defender Samuel Eilers writes in a motion filed Wednesday.
First reported by KDLL 91.9 FM, Rodriguez-Rincon was indicted by a federal grand jury in March with one count of reentry after deportation and one count of false statement of citizenship.
Per the indictment, Rodriguez-Rincon was “found in the United States” on Feb. 12 of this year. The federal government says he had previously been deported from the U.S. in California in 1995. The charge of false statement stems from an allegation that Rodriguez-Rincon made a false statement of U.S. citizenship when filing for an Alaska driver’s license in January 2023.
After being arraigned on the charges in April, Rodriguez-Rincon was ordered released from custody while his court proceedings unfolded. The federal court filing for his case this week still says he is out of custody. Despite that, Eliers writes that on May 21, weeks after Rodriguez-Rincon appeared in court and was released from custody, and while Eilers was out of the office on leave, Rodriguez-Rincon was arrested in Soldotna by Homeland Security Investigations and transferred “over 2,000 miles away” to Northwest Detention Center in Washington state.
“By detaining Mr. Rodriguez-Rincon as this criminal case remains pending, the Executive Branch violates Mr. Rodriguez-Rincon’s statutory rights … and impinges on his constitutional rights,” Eilers writes.
Eilers has motioned either for Rodriguez-Rincon to be released from custody or for his indictment to be dismissed with prejudice. He also requested the revocation of an authorization for court proceedings to be held without Rodriguez-Rincon present. In both instances, he requested expedited consideration.
Rodriguez-Rincon has never been convicted of a crime, Eilers writes.
Eilers did not respond to a request for comment by the Clarion in May.
A GoFundMe was started on May 24 to support Rodriguez-Rincon’s family by a person who writes that they’ve worked for Rodriguez-Rincon for five years and says that the family have been members of the Soldotna community for more than 30 years. As of June 4, more than $3,000 have been donated. The organizer of the GoFundMe did not respond to a request for comment.
Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.
