‘I feel sad and outraged': New Bedford woman whose husband was detained by ICE fights for answers
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A video of the confrontation, which Domingo Ortiz filmed, has been viewed by hundreds of thousands of people across the United States, as
Méndez, 29, is among the scores of foreign nationals being picked up by federal immigration agents in public as part of
In Méndez's case, he has no criminal record, two of his attorneys told the Globe this week. At the time of his arrest, Méndez was seeking a form of asylum known as an I-730 application available to the spouse and children of people who are granted asylum. His wife has asylum, said Ondine Gálvez Sniffin, an immigration attorney for the couple.
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But authorities allege Méndez entered the United States 'without inspection,' and an ICE spokesperson described him as 'an illegally present' citizen of Guatemala.
There are also questions about whether ICE agents arrested the person they were after.
Domingo Ortiz, 28, recalls hearing ICE agents calling for 'Antonio' through the car windows. The couple was confused and attempted to explain they wanted to wait for their lawyer before leaving the vehicle, asserting their constitutional rights.
'I feel sad but at the same time outraged, and fearful. I don't know how to explain everything I feel, but it was horrible,'
said Domingo Ortiz. 'They took my husband without proof.'
While wiping away a tear, Marilu Domingo Ortiz described the arrest during an interview at their home.
Charles Krupa/Associated Press
Estela De la Cruz, who owns the apartment building where the couple rents, confirmed that another person named Antonio lives on the first floor of the triple-decker.
Antonio, whom the Globe is not fully naming because of his immigration status, is also Guatemalan and around the same age
as Méndez.
Court records from New Bedford District Court show Antonio has been charged with two counts of misdemeanor assault and battery, but has not been found guilty. Antonio had a court hearing scheduled for Monday morning; De la Cruz said she heard from someone else that Antonio had just missed ICE officials when they had knocked on the door of the first-floor apartment.
'It is clearly misidentification,' said Gálvez Sniffin, the couple's immigration attorney, after the Globe informed her of the suspected name mixup.
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'They have absolutely nothing against my guy,' she said. ICE is 'just being sloppy.'
ICE officials did not confirm if they apprehended the wrong man.
On Wednesday, a federal judge in New Hampshire ordered the Trump administration to provide 72 hours notice before transferring Francisco Méndez from the Strafford County House of Corrections in Dover, N.H.
Gálvez Sniffin expects to have a bond hearing in the coming weeks for Francisco Méndez.
New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell, a former federal prosecutor, said that while he wants criminals removed from his city, 'It should matter to everybody if these people are not criminals and they're being detained because their identity's mistaken, [or while] they are still adjudicating their immigration status.'
Mitchell also noted 'there was sort of a misleading heads-up given to the Police Department' about the planned arrest. 'The wrong street was given,' he said. 'If the administration is interested in legitimizing what it's doing, it should communicate, and it hasn't been doing that.'
Now Francisco Méndez sits in a county jail in New Hampshire. And Domingo Ortiz is trying to figure out how to get her distraught 9-year old to eat, and how to pay a car repair and other bills that are piling up.
Gálvez Sniffin confirmed Domingo Ortiz received asylum and, legally, her husband is entitled to what's known as
In December, Francisco Méndez provided his fingerprints to US Citizenship and Immigration Services.
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Separately, a second attorney for Francisco Méndez, Ryan Sullivan, has filed a petition to keep him from being transferred to another facility, a practice ICE has been employing in recent weeks.
Francisco Méndez's wife is now figuring out how to raise the thousands of dollars that may be necessary to get him released. Unlike a criminal bond, immigration bonds are paid in full, and she's currently parenting solo. She doesn't have any family in the the area either.
Without a job, her current plan is to sell birria tacos to
On Friday, as she took calls from advocates and friends, she learned the couple's car insurance company would not pay for the smashed windows.
She trudged back up to her apartment, hoping her son was willing to eat today.
Pinned to the top of the apartment door was a small card in bright red, which advocates have distributed to immigrants fearful of being stopped by ICE agents.
'I do not wish to speak with you or answer questions,' the know-your-rights card read.
On Monday, they had handed a similar card to ICE agents.
Juan Francisco Méndez and his wife, Marilu Domingo Ortiz. Francisco Méndez was detained by ICE agents in New Bedford on April 14.
Marilu Domingo Ortiz
Travis Andersen of the Globe staff contributed to this report.
Esmy Jimenez can be reached at
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