JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A co-owner of an Italian restaurant in San Marco is being held behind bars in Baker County, even though he isn't charged with a crime.
Gjovalin "Joe" Gjergji, 28, is an Albanian national with permanent U.S. residency who was picked up by federal agents and has been detained at a federal facility in Baker County since Dec. 17, 2014, without bond.
He was picked up by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and labeled by the government as an "aggravated felon" for something he did nine years ago.
It was part of a sting operation conducted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Court records show agents asked a convicted felon to buy a gun back from Gjergji, who was 18 at the time. He was arrested five years later, convicted and sentenced to three years of probation.
"I sold a gun in 2007 and I did not know at that time about this person being a convicted felon," Gjergji said.
But Gjergji said the government is violating his civil rights. His family hired attorney David Vedder to get him out of jail and keep him in the country.
"Joe admitted what he did, testified truthfully at his trial and paid the price for that. His probation was without incident," Vedder said.
Vedder told the News4Jax I-TEAM that Gjergji -- even though he served his probation -- is in danger of being deported.
"The government's position is he deportable and should be deported. And they are taking a very, very aggressive run at his deportation from the U.S.," Vedder said.
Federal agents said they are just following the rules set by Congress and enforced by the Department of Homeland Security and ICE, the Department's Immigration and Customs Enforcement Bureau. Its point is to find immigrants who have been convicted of violent crimes and remove them from the country.
But Gjergji said he didn't meet ICE's criteria and should not be locked up.
"I don't understand that, why I am mandatory detention?" Gjergji said.
Vedder said the case stands out because Gjergji was never given a bond hearing so he hasn't had a chance to even ask to get out of jail since he was detained in 2014. Vedder said that was unconstitutional.
Immigration agents told the I-TEAM that they were just following executive orders from the Department of Homeland Security. ICE issued the following statement:
“Gjovalin Gjergji, an Albanian national, was taken into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody in December 2014 following his aggravated felony conviction on a federal firearms charge in the Middle District of Florida in January 2013.
ICE makes custody determinations on a case-by-case basis with a priority for detention of serious criminal offenders and other individuals who pose a significant threat to public safety in accordance with the civil immigration enforcement priorities announced by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson in November 2014. While Mr. Gjergji falls within an enforcement priority category, ICE is awaiting the outcome of his immigration court proceedings before taking further action.”
Gjergi said he's allowed to see his wife and baby girl only through a monitor.
"I am not dangerous. I'm not dangerous. I made a mistake, they punished me, they gave my sentence, I completed it. I believe I deserve a second chance," Gjergji said.
His wife, Arjerta Gjergji, said he's missing so many milestones and his daughter is growing up without a dad.
"Me and my daughter need him," his wife said. "It has been pretty difficult financially and emotionally."
Gjergji did recently get an emergency hearing in federal court, where the government and his attorney laid out their cases. The magistrate judge ordered a bond hearing with an immigration judge in Orlando, but a court date has not been set.
VIEW: Gjovalin Gjergji order from magistrate
If released on bond, Gjergji would still have to fight his deportation, which could take years.
Gjergji said that if he is granted bond, he just wants to be reunited with his family.
"Be home with my family and spend as much time as I can, take care of everything," Gjergji said.
Gjergji is not alone. ICE agents said they've removed or returned more than 235,000 people from the United States in 2015, and 98 percent of them met the criteria for their enforcement priorities set under immigration law. To learn more about the rules regarding immigrants charged with crimes, view the Department of Homeland Security's policies for the apprehension, detention and removal of undocumented immigrants.