Lawyer: Federal agents detain Guatemalan man, 29, with no criminal record
Immigration agents blocked the car that he and his wife were driving in and smashed a window to detain him without presenting a warrant.
AGuatemalan immigrant with no Massachusetts criminal record was arrested Monday on Tallman Street after federal agents shattered the glass on his vehicle as he and his wife waited inside the car for their lawyer to arrive.
Juan Francisco Méndez, 29, who was taken to an undisclosed location, has been in the United States for two years and was undocumented, but pursuing an adjustment of his immigration status, according to his attorney, Ondine Gálvez. Méndez’s wife, Marilú, a beneficiary of an asylum program, had petitioned for him so he could regularize his status. They are the parents of one child.
Gálvez said Méndez has no criminal record. A name and date of birth search in the Massachusetts judicial system showed that Méndez has no criminal record in the state, according to a clerk at the New Bedford District Court.
According to Marilú, the couple had just left their home when they noticed unfamiliar vehicles parked along their street. Despite this, they continued on their way until three cars blocked them in. Armed men wearing green bulletproof vests ordered them to get out of the vehicle, she said.
In video shot by Marilú and shared with The Light, one of the agents demanded that they open the door. Méndez replied that he would comply once his lawyer arrived, who was already on her way to assist him.
“Roll down the window so we can talk,” another agent insisted, while Méndez’s wife asked if they had an arrest warrant for her or her husband.
The tense standoff took about 30 minutes. The couple were taken from their car after an agent smashed in the rear right window.
“They pulled us out violently. They treated us very harshly,” Méndez’s wife recalled through tears.
“They are acting with total impunity,” said Gálvez, referring to the federal agents — one of whom was wearing a vest labeled “FBI.”
“Imagine if a child had been in that car. I’m ashamed of what this country is becoming,” she added.
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Representatives from several local organizations, including the Centro Comunitario de Trabajadores, Community Economic Development Center, and Mujeres Victoriosa, arrived on the scene to support Méndez and his wife.
The representatives tried to file a report with the local police. However, an officer from the New Bedford Police Department at first refused to take the complaint, stating that the federal agents were not accountable to municipal law enforcement, a Light reporter on the scene observed. However, a police officer later took the complaint and gave Méndez’s wife a piece of paper with an address and a serial number.
On Monday afternoon, Méndez contacted his wife from custody. “He called me to ask for the lawyer’s phone number. He didn’t tell me where he is,” said Méndez’s wife.
At least 15 people have been detained by federal agents in New Bedford since Jan. 20, the date the new administration took office.
Between March 18 and 23, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted what it called an “enhanced enforcement operation” across Massachusetts, resulting in the detention of 370 people the agency described as “illegal aliens,” including 205 who “had significant criminal convictions or charges.” The Light has confirmed that at least eight of those arrests took place in New Bedford, bringing the city’s total to 15 ICE-related detentions since the inauguration of President Donald Trump.
Among those detained were José Antonio Garcia Garcia, 39, and Miguel Ordoñez Sorocop, 35. According to several teenagers who were in the home at the time, ICE agents entered the house without a warrant on March 21, using a battering ram and wearing military-style fatigues. The agents pointed their weapons at the children’s faces as they were eating breakfast before school.
Others detained in New Bedford include three Guatemalan workers from the Minit Man Car Wash on Purchase Street and one worker from Bob’s Tire on Brook Street. These arrests are part of a broader enforcement trend in the city that has raised concerns among local residents and community leaders.
Email Gerardo Beltrán Salinas at gerardo@newbedfordlight.org
Anastasia Lennon contributed reporting.
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275 replies on “Lawyer: Federal agents detain Guatemalan man, 29, with no criminal record”
Jane Constantsays:The use of Gestapo tactics to arrest and detain people in this country for deportation without a warrant or opportunity for representation by a lawyer in court is a violation of the US Constitution. The US Constitution states” We the People” not we the citizens. The founders meant it to apply to all residents. We are all entitled to due process and the opportunity to defend ourselves in a court of law. If this administration can make these people disappear to a prison camp, either in this country or another dictator-ruled country such as El Salvador, then this administration can do it to any of us, even citizens such as your neighbor, your relative or even you. This is just one of the many ways in which this administration is violating our US Constitution which the President and his Cabinet have sworn an oath of office to protect. We should all be out on the streets protesting this.
What does the constitution say about due process?
The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution says clearly that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without the due process of law. Note that this says person, not citizen, and over the years the Supreme Court has consistently ruled that the Due Process Clause applies to all people in the United States.
Do non-citizens have the right to due process in the U.S.?
Yes. The Constitution guarantees due process rights to all “persons,” not just citizens. This means non-citizens, including undocumented immigrants, are entitled to fair treatment under the law. This includes the right to defend themselves in court. But recent Trump administration policies that speed up deportations and limit access to legal representation make it harder for non-citizens to get their fair day in court.
- Access to legal representation Access to legal counsel is an essential part of our justice system and our democracy. In the criminal justice system, anyone facing even one day in jail gets a lawyer if they can’t afford one. But immigrants facing deportation usually don’t get that chance.The research is clear – the most effective way to ensure some level of due process for people navigating our complicated immigration system is for them to have trained attorney at their side. But Trump administration is now working to strip attorneys from as many people as possible, all in the name of increasing its deportation numbers. This attempt to eliminate basic due process will hurt people who already have few options.
- Fair day in court Due process guarantees that individuals have the opportunity to defend themselves in court. This includes non-citizens facing deportation.
Why is due process important?
We are seeing right now the importance of due process when it comes to President Trump’s actions to carry out the so-called Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 wartime law that permits people to be deported outside of the normal framework of immigration law. President Trump has alleged that this law allows him to simply point at any person, declare them to be an alien enemy, and kick them out of the country without ever having a chance to see a judge. Thankfully, the Supreme Court said that is not true, and in a unanimous decision, ruled that people can challenge the Trump administration’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act. That is why due process is so important, because it means that no person can be rounded up and sent to another country without a chance to go to court and make the government prove their case.
How is the American Immigration Council working to protect due process?
- We serve thousands of individuals in immigration detention centers through the Immigration Justice Campaign, our initiative with the American Immigration Lawyers Association. The Justice Campaign provides free legal services for immigrants who would otherwise have to navigate our complicated immigration system without a lawyer.
- We use the courts to demand a fair process for immigrants. Our litigation team is fighting back against the Trump administration’s blatant disregard for due process including filing a lawsuit challenging their illegal detention of immigrants in El Salvador’s notorious Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT).
