Officials are still seeking answers regarding what led up to Federal officers smashing a car window during the arrest of a Guatemalan national in New Bedford.
Cell phone video taken by occupants of the vehicle shows what appears to be federal officers smashing a car window during an arrest of Juan Francisco Mendez, 29, a Guatemalan national who federal authorities say is in the U.S. illegally.
An immigration attorney representing Mendez claims he wasn’t the person ICE was searching for and that his wife and child
New Bedford Mayor John Mitchell said Wednesday that he still has not heard from ICE at all.
“I think what we saw in the video requires an explanation,” Mitchell said. “It didn’t seem like it was warranted but there may have been some fact not known to the public that might have justified it. We’re just not hearing anything.”
Mitchell said a lack of communication with federal immigration authorities is a recurring issue.
“There’s some indication they were waiting on their attorney, and so the question is: ‘Why not let them wait?’” Mitchell went on. ”What’s the rush?"
Mendez’s attorney told Boston 25 News her client is not a criminal and that he is in line for asylum status like his wife.
“The video speaks for itself ... (my client) approached the situation in a very respectful, humble manner. He asserted his right to remain silent and his right to have an attorney present.“Ondine Galvez Sniffin said in a statement.
Although Mendez does not have a Green Card, he was in the US as a derivative asylee, meaning he is eligible for asylum because he is the spouse of someone already granted asylum, Sniffin said.
She told Boston 25 News that in her 27 years as an immigration attorney, she’s never seen such violence during an arrest, but she doesn’t expect the officer will be disciplined.
Mendez’s attorney tells Boston 25 that they have filed an emergency motion to stay/prevent a transfer, in which the judge took it under advisement and ordered that the government provide a 72-hour notice to the attorneys before transfer, which would allow them to update/file a motion to stay that transfer.
Mendez’s attorneys believe that doing this will prevent the government from sending Mendez to Louisiana, Texas, etc., without them being able to file another motion to stop it.
The U.S. Attorney’s office agreed to that motion.
Mitchell, a former federal prosecutor, said there is a protocol to be followed after such an arrest.
“There should be something in the way of a press release saying what the circumstances are and why that individual’s been picked up,” Mitchell said.
ICE told Boston 25 News that Mendez is an illegally present Guatemalan man, and it concurs with the actions taken by the agents.
“ICE concurs with the actions deemed appropriate by the officers on the scene who are trained to use the minimum amount of force necessary to resolve the situation in a manner that ensures the success of the operation and prioritizes the safety of our officers,” an ICE spokesperson said.
“I’ve said it in the past, as attorney general, I’m all for getting the bad guys, okay? I investigated, prosecuted and put away a lot of bad guys, including people who are here unlawfully doing bad things. No disagreement. But that’s not what we’re seeing, and it’s not right, and it’s really scary because you got a lot of people who are understandably terrified right now in Massachusetts, around New England, around this country,” Governor Maura Healey said. “We need some explanations for the Department of Homeland Security about exactly what they’re doing."
Mendez’s next court hearing is scheduled for May, unless something were to happen before then.
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