Mexican man, 26, is STILL in ICE custody more than a year after immigration judge granted him asylum over fears he would be persecuted in his native country because he's gay

A Mexican immigrant has been under custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for the last 18 months even though a Chicago federal immigration judge approved his asylum request on several key grounds, including his sexual preference.

Legal representatives for Francisco Morales Torres are now asking a federal court in Wisconsin, arguing that keeping him behind bars violates the U.S. Constitution's due process law and stressing that his imprisonment could eventually expose him to the coronavirus.

'A lot of us in here already didn't know when we were going to see our families again, but now with the coronavirus, there's an added fear of dying,' Morales Torres said in a conference phone call from Dodge County Detention Facility in Juneau, Wisconsin, on Wednesday. 

'We don't know what's going on. It's only a matter of time before something happens.' 

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ICE has been holding Francisco Morales Torres at a Wisconsin detention facility for 18 months after twice appealing a Chicago judge's decision that granted asylum to the 26-year-old gay Mexican in April 2019 and again in February

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Attorneys for Francisco Morales Torres argue that he could be exposed to the coronavirus if he remains jailed by ICE at the Dodge County Detention Facility in Juneau, Wisconsin

Morales Torres said he is being held in a dorm room with 50 other detainees who have to share one bathroom.

He also added the prison officials did not provided them with any personal protective equipment such as gloves and face masks. 

The 26-year-old arrived in the United States as a 13-year-old and settled in Chicago but was arrested in September 2018 after running afoul of the law on several occasions. 

Morales Torres' criminal record includes a conviction for possessing a stole vehicle.

However, immigration Judge Kathryn De Angelis signed off Morales Torres' asylum petition in April 2019 after attorneys convinced the court deporting him to Mexico would place him at risk of being hunted down because of he is gay and because he suffers from mental illness.

ICE appealed the court's decision but Morales Torres' asylum request was once again approved by De Angelis in February. 

'He will face a substantial risk of torture if he is removed to Mexico because of his severe mental health illnesses, his lack of familial support, and his sexual orientation,' De Angelis opined.

The federal immigration enforcement agency balked at the court's ruling and filed a second appeal, thus keeping Morales Torres in custody at Dodge County Detention Facility in Juneau, Wisconsin.

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Lawyers for Francisco Morales Torres fear that the gay Mexican immigrant could contract the coronavirus if there is an outbreak of the deadly bug at Dodge County Detention Facility (pictured) in Juneau, Wisconsin

With appeals typically lasting a year to be sorted out, Morales Torres' legal team at the National Immigrant Justice Center in Chicago warn that its only a matter of time before there's a massive spread of the COVID-19 at the detention facility.

'His situation is serious and urgent with the pandemic,' said Keren Zwick, one of the three lawyers representing Morales Torres.

'Morales Torres should not have to wait for the pandemic to reach Dodge, or worse, to become one of the infected.'

ICE has almost 30,000 undocumented immigrants held at its detention centers across the United States. 

At least 606 inmates and 39 guards have tested positive for the global pandemic. 

The virus has killed four guards, including two from a Louisiana detention center.