West Palm contractor in immigrant detention since July wins release

After nearly six months in immigration custody, Miguel Victor Chaclan is going home, to a son who got the best 18th birthday present he could wish for and a daughter still waiting for her Quinceañera dance.

A federal judge in Miami on Jan. 2 allowed the Palm Beach County contractor and worship leader at a local Catholic church to be released on bond while his asylum case plays out in the courts. That case will decide if the native of Guatemala can legally remain in the U.S.

Federal officials have not released details on why Florida Highway Patrol troopers detained Chaclan on July 11 at Jog Road and Northlake Boulevard in Palm Beach Gardens and did not reply to requests for comment.

Gary Rosen, his attorney, said his client has lived in the U.S. for 22 years and that the asylum case has been pending for some time.

Chaclan doesn't have a criminal record and had both a valid driver's license and work permit at the time of the arrest, Rosen said. He sought asylum after barely surviving a beating by MS-13 gang members in Guatemala when he refused to join their ranks, according to his son, Michael Chaclan.

Contractor can stay in U.S. while immigration case is resolved

Chaclan's detention comes amid President Donald Trump's push to enforce laws against immigrants in the U.S. without documentation. Upon taking office nearly a year ago, Trump promised the largest mass deportation in U.S. history.

Lawyers for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security waived their right to appeal to Judge Abraham Burgess' order, meaning Chaclan can remain free while his immigration case is resolved, Rosen said. He will be allowed to return to work but cannot fly until his immigration case concludes.

Burgess set Chaclan's bond at $15,000. Rosen said Chaclan will likely be released from the Broward Transitional Center, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement site in Pompano Beach, on Jan. 5, when he will reunite with his family at his West Palm Beach-area home.

"Hearing the words 'Victor is coming home' was such a burden-lifting moment for us," Michael Chaclan, who spent his 18th birthday listening to his father's hearing, told The Palm Beach Post late on Jan. 2.

Michael Chaclan has run his father's business, MVC Painting, a construction and painting business that has focused on communities in Palm Beach Gardens and North Palm Beach, since the elder Chaclan was taken into custody.

Detention kept contractor from milestones with children, mother

During the last six months, Victor Chaclan's absence has been sorely felt by his family and community, Michael said.

The day after his detention was his daughter's Brianna's Quinceañera, her 15th birthday celebration highlighted by the ritual father-daughter dance.

Then, he missed his mother's first trip to the U.S. where they would reunite for the first time in 22 years. He missed Michael enrolling at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.

Most recently, he missed St. John Fisher Catholic Church's annual "Posada," where he would have led the congregation in the Hispanic version of Christmas carols.

Next week, Victor Chaclan will finally have the dance he missed, waltzing with Brianna to the iconic song “Quince veces el sol” ("Fifteen Times The Sun").

The detention sat poorly with Chaclan's customers as well. Patricia Reardon, a Palm Beach Gardens interior designer and his longtime business partner, said she has known Chaclan for over 20 years and said he has become her clients' favorite contractor.

She added many clients are holding up on doing their work until he is released.

"Our ancestors came through Ellis Island to build better lives for so many of us, and we've always been a welcoming country and the opportunity to better yourself, for you and for your children's children," Reardon said. "That's what the United States always represented, and it's changed a lot."

The detention has brought financial stress onto Chaclan's family, but his son said he is most interested in embracing his dad after the longest absence he could imagine.

"Finally, after six long months, I'll be able to reunite with my dad," added Michael Chaclan. "Now, I am waiting for the moment I’ll be able to hug my dad and catch up on the time we lost."

"It feels amazing, honestly," he added. "I'm so thankful for everybody's help."

Valentina Palm covers immigration and the western communities of Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post. Email her at vpalm@pbpost.com. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.