A federal judge ruled Monday that there is probable cause that Luis Miguel Campos Reyes, manager at Como en Casa and El Patron restaurants in Opelika, employed and harbored illegal aliens.
The charges against Campos-Reyes were the same as charges levied against Isaac Fernandez Lopez, a manager at the Opelika El Patron. The same judge on Friday found no probable cause that Frenandez Lopez employed illegal aliens at the restaurant.
The difference between the two cases came down to a few key pieces of evidence against Campos-Reyes, enough to establish probable cause for the case to move forward. FBI Special Agent Matthew Nahas testified that at least one employee arrested during the July 15 raids told investigators that Luis Campos-Reyes hired him and oversaw his employment process. The U.S. government was also able to show that Luis Campos-Reyes is a co-signer on the restaurant and was the top earner at the restaurant in quarter one of 2025, supporting their assertion that his role extends to employment.
Also bolstering their claim that Campos-Reyes harbored immigrants, although mostly based on employment, is the argument that one of the undocumented immigrants listed Campos-Reyes as his own.
The government had no similar evidence to provide last week against Fernandez Lopez.
Because the case is moving forward, U.S. Magistrate Judge Chad Bryan also had other decide whether Luis Campos-Reyes should remain in detention of the U.S. Marshals either because he poses a danger to the community or due to risk of nonappearance. The main factor in that decision was whether an ICE detainer against Luis Campos-Reyes could be considered in Bryan’s assessment of whether Campos-Reyes is unlikely to appear for future hearings.
Bryan ultimately concluded that he cannot factor the ICE detainer itself into that decision, only whether the detainer might affect whether Campos-Reyes would attempt to avoid proceedings of his own volition. Finding that Campos-Reyes has strong ties to the Auburn community, Bryan has chosen to release him. A bond hearing is set for Wednesday afternoon, but all indications suggest that ICE will take Campos-Reyes into custody.
A source told APR that Fernandez Lopez is also being taken into ICE custody despite the criminal charges against him being dropped. Both men are in the U.S. unlawfully after entering illegally in 2006. Fernandez Lopez applied for asylum in 2016, and Campos-Reyes applied for asylum in 2017; both men have been denied asylum and are pending a decision on appeal. Both men received valid work permits while they await the appeal decision.
It appears that despite one manager having his charges dropped and the other having his case continue, both men are likely headed for the same result. Both are expected to be detained by ICE and transferred to a Louisiana detention facility to await the results of their appeals and ultimately face deportation to Mexico if those appeals are denied.
Testimony at the hearing Monday indicated that Luis Campos-Reyes’ wife is also a manager at Como en Casa and in the U.S. illegally, and after being detained during the July 15 raid, is now in the process of being deported to Mexico. The family has two U.S. citizen daughters, ages 13 and 16, who appeared in court Wednesday. They are in the care of their godmother, Talia Martinez, who testified Wednesday that Luis Campos-Reyes did not hire and fire people in her experience at the restaurant.
