DAVENPORT, Iowa — Making small talk in the hallway before his plea hearing, Jorge González Ochoa, an Iowa City man who was detained by ICE agents in September, shifted in demeanor once he entered the courtroom. Brows furrowed and head angled toward his interpreter for the duration of his court proceeding, González Ochoa pled guilty to fraud and misuse of documents. 

The 28-year-old appeared in the U.S. District Court Southern District of Iowa on Feb. 17 after entering a plea agreement on Feb. 13. His sentencing hearing is set for June 10.

Detained by plainclothes U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, agents in Bread Garden Market in Iowa City on Sept. 25, González Ochoa was also charged with the use of an immigration identification document not lawfully issued and the false representation of a Social Security number. These charges will be dismissed at the time of sentencing, according to court documents. 

According to court documents, González Ochoa was in possession of a permanent residence card in or around May 2025 with the name “Elijah Rodriguez” and an alien identification number ending in 806.

González Ochoa was aware the documents were false and used them to obtain employment. Creating, possessing, and counterfeiting false documentation, including visas and all other immigration documents, fall under violation of the code, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. 

Stephen Jackson, chief magistrate judge for the Southern District of Iowa, ruled González Ochoa will remain on release until his sentencing.

Jackson said he will uphold the previous ruling of Judge Stephen Locher, a U.S. district judge for the Southern District of Iowa, who found González Ochoa is not at risk of fleeing and needs to be there for his child. 

Jackson said González Ochoa cannot withdraw his guilty plea and will not be subject to a trial. He will be judged solely on the basis of his plea by Locher.

González Ochoa could face a maximum statutory sentence of 10 years in prison, a maximum fee of $250,000, and a supervised release of up to 3 years.

Jackson said González Ochoa will have to remain in custody for the entirety of his sentence, as federal court does not grant parole.

RELATED: Jorge González Ochoa enters plea agreement for fraud, misuse of documents

According to court documents, González Ochoa pleading guilty may restrict his ability to challenge removal from the U.S. in the future, and he may be subject to immediate removal from the U.S. after serving a sentence. 

“Since you are not a U.S. citizen, it is likely that you will be deported right after serving your prison sentence and won’t be able to return to the U.S. during supervised release,” Jackson said to González Ochoa. 

Jackson said if González Ochoa were to reenter the U.S. while on supervisory release, an additional two years could be added to a sentence for illegally entering the U.S..

“It may affect your ability to ever legally enter the U.S.,” Jackson said.

González Ochoa admitted to entering the U.S. illegally from Colombia in October 2024, according to court documents. 

González Ochoa was released from custody in January after a federal judge deemed he was illegally detained and ordered his release with supervision while the case proceeded toward a trial. 

Jackson said both parties have 14 days to any objections to the ruling. 

Escucha Mi Voz, an Iowa City immigrant advocacy organization that advocated for González Ochoa’s release from ICE detainment and provided support at his ICE check-ins in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, declined to comment. 

Elena Casillas-Hoffman, communications specialist for the Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice, declined to comment on the case, but spoke about the negative impacts of ICE on Iowa’s communities. 

Casillas-Hoffman said ICE’s presence in Iowa is not new, but the tactics and scale of immigration enforcement cause fear and terrorize communities. 

“We know that the scale of what they’re doing here in Iowa is escalated, and the terror that they are inflicting on our communities is more heightened than ever,” she said. 

Many community members are isolating themselves because of a fear of the threat of ICE, Casillas-Hoffman said. 

“The threat is again all encompassing,” she said. “And as more and more of this information comes out, we hope that it leads to an educational opportunity for allies to know what immigrants and refugees are going through and have historically gone through under immigration enforcement.”