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‘A month-long miscarriage of justice’: New Bedford man released after ICE agents broke car window, detained him
A New Bedford man and Guatemalan native whose arrest by ICE last month was highly publicized has been released.
A New Bedford man with no criminal record was released 30 days after he was detained by federal immigration agents, who dragged him out of his car after smashing a window with a sledgehammer.
Juan Francisco Méndez, 29, a native of Guatemala, spent weeks in Suffolk County Jail in New Hampshire after he was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). His attorney, Ondine Gálvez Sniffin, argued that federal officials failed to file the appropriate charging documents, prompting a judge to order his release earlier this month.
“Counsel are reminded to accompany any future filings with as much supporting documentation as possible,” court records read. “Because of the unfortunate administrative agency mishap that apparently occurred in this case, the court requests that the government facilitate the scheduling of any requested bond hearing on the earliest practicable date.”
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Though Méndez was at last able to go home, he did so while wearing an electronic ankle monitor as part of ICE’s Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (ISAP), which Sniffin said means he’s “essentially still detained.”
Sniffin told Boston.com that she filed a motion Friday to have the ankle monitor removed because it goes against the judge’s orders. When she questioned ICE officers about the monitor, they were unable to provide any proof that the judge had allowed it, she said.
“I’m super thankful to everyone who helped Juan get out of detention,” Sniffin said. “The fight goes on because now I have to argue in court for an order for ICE to remove the ankle monitor.”
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In a statement, ICE described Méndez as an “illegally present Guatemalan alien” who “refused to comply with officers’ instructions and resisted apprehension.”
“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 in the statement.
Agents smashed Méndez’s window while looking for another man, attorney says
Méndez and his wife, Marilu Domingo Ortiz, were on their way to the dentist April 14 when they were pulled over by federal agents. Keeping their windows rolled up, they explained that they were waiting for Sniffin and asked if the officers had an arrest warrant.
In a video captured by Ortiz, the officers repeatedly try to convince them to open the door before one of them smashes a backseat window with a sledgehammer. The agents then reportedly dragged them both out of the car before arresting Méndez.
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The officers were looking for another man, identified only as “Antonio,” when they arrested Méndez, according to Sniffin. The man, who reportedly does have a criminal record, and Méndez live on different floors of the same building, she said.
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By enacting their “purposeful” and “malicious” arrest of Méndez, the agents essentially detained him as “collateral damage,” Sniffin said.
Sniffin told Boston.com that she believes the publicity of the incident may have influenced ICE’s actions, describing them as “retaliatory because [Méndez] exercised his First Amendment rights to have that video published.”
“It was a month-long miscarriage of justice,” she said.
In a separate civil proceeding out of New Hampshire federal court, Ryan Sullivan, who is also representing Méndez, filed a habeas petition to ensure that the government would notify the court at least 72 hours before moving Méndez from the Suffolk County Jail. Sullivan told Boston.com that he has filed habeas petitions in similar cases to keep detainees close.
Though he was grateful for the approval of the habeas petition and Méndez’s release, Sullivan said he was dismayed that ICE has so far shown “no remorse or acknowledgment” regarding Méndez’s arrest.
Méndez’s wife has asylum, making him an asylee by marriage
Méndez entered the United States illegally in 2021 but began proceedings to be granted asylum after his wife and son were granted political asylum in February 2024, Sniffin previously told Boston.com. By the end of the year, Méndez had filed the paperwork and been fingerprinted by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency.
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Méndez is eligible for derivative asylee status under federal immigration law.
“If he had been in court with her, he would have simultaneously received asylee status from the immigration judge, but because he never turned himself in, because he was not in proceedings, he wasn’t able to get that protection at the same time formally,” Sniffin told Boston.com in April, “but essentially by virtue of being married, he’s also an asylee.”
New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell has previously expressed that New Bedford is not a sanctuary city, but he condemned ICE for targeting a man without a criminal record.
“The absence of evidence that Mr. Mendez has a criminal record begs the question, ‘Is ICE targeting undocumented criminals, as the Trump Administration claims, or is it indiscriminately rounding up individuals with unresolved immigration status?’” Mitchell said in a statement. “The public deserves an honest and fulsome explanation of the government’s enforcement strategy.”
This article was updated May 19 to include a statement from ICE.
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