An immigration judge in New Hampshire has ordered the release of Juan Francisco Méndez, an immigrant who was arrested in New Bedford last month after a federal agent smashed through his car window to detain him.
Méndez has been in detention for nearly a month at Strafford County Corrections in New Hampshire.
The order for his release came after the judge declared a failure to prosecute at a hearing Thursday morning. In other words, the government did not charge Méndez with any crimes.
Méndez's lawyer, Ondine Gálvez Sniffin, said the government had until the day of the hearing to submit evidence and file papers that would have officially charged her client.
But the day of the hearing came, and, “The government submitted nothing, absolutely nothing,” Sniffin said. “They didn't make any charges against him, they didn't say he was resisting arrest, they didn't say he was unlawfully in the country. They didn't say anything.”
According to the New Bedford Light, Méndez does not have a criminal record.
Sniffin said for the weeks leading up to the hearing, she had been calling the court and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) trying to get information about why her client was being detained. But she never even got to see Mendez’s arrest warrant.
“I have never seen a case go all the way to a hearing in front of a judge with all the resources that that entails, and for someone to be detained, and then nothing,” she said. “Absolutely nothing. I've never seen that happen.”
Sniffin has been practicing immigration law for more than 25 years.
Sniffin said Méndez's constitutional rights had been violated, but that he could likely only get recourse if he sued. Méndez is in the process of applying for derivative asylum through his wife and is not sure he wants to move forward with a lawsuit, out of concern that it could impact his asylum case, Sniffin said.
Méndez is one of at least 18 immigrants who have been detained in New Bedford by federal agents since President Donald Trump took office.
“There's no doubt in my mind that something like this will continue to happen,” Sniffin said. “Basically, New Bedford has become a military outpost for ICE.”
Méndez could be released as soon as Thursday.
ICE did not respond to CAI's request for comment.
