Latest news with #Sniffin
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Yahoo
Judge orders release of New Bedford man after window-shattering ICE arrest
NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (WPRI) — After nearly a month in federal custody following a controversial arrest by immigration agents, a New Bedford man is set to be released, 12 News has confirmed. Judge Donald Ostrom agreed Thursday morning to dismiss the case against 29-year-old Juan Francisco Méndez, who's being held at a detention facility in New Hampshire. Méndez was taken into custody on April 14 after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers pulled him over on Tallman Street and shattered his car window. BACKGROUND: ICE agents shatter car window during New Bedford arrest As the couple waited for their attorney, Ondine Galvez Sniffin, to arrive, agents surrounded the vehicle and warned them the situation could be handled 'the easy way or the hard way.' Méndez's wife, Marilu Domingo Ortiz, recorded the incident in a cell phone video that has since made international headlines. It shows an ICE agent using a large tool to smash the backseat window and forcibly remove Méndez from the vehicle. While an ICE spokesperson defended the agent's actions that day, stressing that Francisco Méndez refused to comply with instructions, Sniffin argued they detained the wrong person. She said the agents told her clients they were looking for someone named 'Antonio.' Since Méndez's wife was granted asylum due to persecution in her home country, the couple is lawfully present in the United States, according to Sniffin. She also said Méndez has no criminal record. Meanwhile, ICE claimed Méndez entered the U.S. illegally or without inspection. While the agency acknowledged he has no criminal history, a spokesperson described him as an 'illegally present Guatemalan alien.' RELATED: ICE defends agents who smashed car window during New Bedford arrest But after determining that the federal government had not submitted charging documents, the judge decided to close the case as a 'failure to prosecute.' Francisco Méndez has not yet been released. Sniffin referenced the case of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, who was unlawfully deported to El Salvador but has not been returned to the U.S. — despite a Supreme Court ruling ordering his removal. She told 12 News she hopes this does not become a similar situation. Sniffin said she has contacted ICE, the American Civil Liberties Union and the New Hampshire attorney who filed the habeas corpus petition on he client's behalf regarding his release. She hopes Méndez will be returned to New Bedford Thursday evening, where with his wife and child await him. MORE: Congressman questions 'violent destruction' during New Bedford ICE arrest Download the and apps to get breaking news and weather alerts. Watch or with the new . Follow us on social media: Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Yahoo
Attorney: ICE agents shatter car window during New Bedford arrest
NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (WPRI) — Federal immigration agents reportedly shattered a car window in New Bedford while detaining a Guatemalan man on Monday—despite his attorney saying they had the wrong person. According to immigration attorney Ondine Galvez Sniffin, she received a call from her clients—29-year-old Juan Francisco Mendez and his wife—saying they had been pulled over by federal agents on Tallman Street. 'I said, 'Tell them you have your attorney. Tell them I'm on my way,'' Sniffin told 12 News. The incident was first reported by The New Bedford Light. While the couple waited, agents reportedly surrounded their car and warned that they could handle things 'the easy way or the hard way,' while motioning for them to roll down the windows. Video obtained by 12 News shows Mendez and his wife speaking to the agents in Spanish from inside the vehicle. When they didn't comply, one of the agents is seen grabbing what appears to be a large pick-axe and smashing the backseat window. Sniffin said her clients were told the agents were looking for someone named 'Antonio.' 'I said, 'Well, that's great, because your name is not Antonio, so you should be fine. Show them the paperwork that you have and you should be fine.' And the agents didn't pay attention to that,' she said. Sniffin said both Mendez and his wife are lawfully in the U.S. and have no criminal record. His wife was granted asylum after fleeing persecution in her home country, and because the two are legally married, Mendez receives the same protection. 'She came to the U.S. with the belief that she would be safe here, that she would not have to endure the impunity of state actors the way she endured in her own country. And this is what she's facing, and her husband, because they are legally married, has the same benefits that she does,' Sniffin explained. Francisco Mendez is currently being held in New Hampshire, and a hearing is expected at a later date. Sniffin said they are now gathering evidence and letters of support in preparation for a bond request. 'They're trying to live the American dream. They're doing everything right. What they were doing, sitting in their car, in a parked car, respectfully speaking with these agents. That's what every American should do: respect law enforcement,' Sniffin added. 'In response, what they got was violence, brutality, impunity.' The couple has a child in school, and Sniffin said Mendez's wife is devastated trying to explain the situation to him. 'As she was here in my office, as we're strategizing to request bond, her son calls her on the cellphone, 'Mommy, when are you going to be home? Please don't forget to bring daddy when you come home,'' Sniffin recalled. She said the incident has had a 'ripple effect,' bringing on a collective trauma to the wider community, not just the family involved. Although New Bedford police responded to the scene, they said they could not intervene because it was a federal enforcement action. 'Neither the City nor the New Bedford Police Department were briefed or given notice from ICE regarding enforcement activity in New Bedford,' city spokesperson Jonathan Darling told 12 News. 12 News has reached out to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement but has not yet received a response. However, the FBI Boston confirmed, 'This was an ICE ERO Boston arrest.' Alex Torres-Perez contributed to this report. ALSO READ: ICE detains 3 workers at New Bedford car wash Download the and apps to get breaking news and weather alerts. Watch or with the new . Follow us on social media: Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Yahoo
Caught on video: ICE agents smash car window in New Bedford arrest. Was it the wrong man?
NEW BEDFORD — A 29-year-old Guatemalan man's arrest April 14 in New Bedford by ICE was caught in part by a dramatic video taken by his wife, including their car window being smashed to gain access. Juan Francisco Méndez was driving with his wife, Marilú, when they were hemmed in by cars and approached by ICE agents on Tallman Street. They would not get out of the car, asking to wait until their attorney could arrive. One of the agents, whose vest read "POLICE," used a sledgehammer-like implement to break in the window. They were dragged out, Marilú said, according to their attorney. Her husband was taken into custody. The incident took about 30 minutes. ICE arrests: Two immigrants detained at Bob's Tire in New Bedford by ICE Tuesday, according to advocate Their attorney, Ondine Galvez Sniffin, said they called her at about 9 a.m., and she arrived about 9:30 a.m. just as they were pulling away with Méndez. 'He yelled out to me, 'ayúdame,' help me. So I got to hear him, but it was too late.' She added there was no warrant presented. Her client has 'absolutely no record that I am aware of in the state or in the country.' The couple are living in New Bedford and have a small child who was not with them. She said the use of force was 'absolutely' excessive. Sniffin said, 'They indicated they were looking for some guy by the name of Antonio, which is not my client. There would be no reasonable cause for them to use that level of violence.' Her client is currently being held at Strafford County Correctional Facility in Dover, New Hampshire. Another raid: Questions remain after ICE arrests 3 Guatemalans at New Bedford car wash 'Hopefully, he'll have a hearing soon. My understanding is he has one coming up in May, and that's when we'll ask for bond. We'll try to get something sooner for him, but right now that's as much as I know. He will be incarcerated until the hearing.' That's according to her client, she added, who was told that by officials. She was unable to find him in ICE's system. In the video, one agent's vest read "FBI." 'When I tried to track them down, I called ICE. They said 'We don't have him in our system.' They said 'Why don't you call ATF and the FBI.' I called ATF and the FBI in Boston, and they said call ICE,' she said. Kristen Setera, FBI public information officer, said, 'This was an ICE ERO Boston arrest.' ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Sniffin is an immigration attorney and had been representing Méndez. 'He has a process underway. We have filed paperwork for him. His wife was granted asylum status by an immigration judge, so she is a legal asylee and as her husband, he derives benefits. We were in the process of finalizing his benefits. The paperwork has already been submitted,' Sniffin said. She hasn't done many detainment cases in the past because they generally involve criminal records, she said. 'But lately they've been picking up my clients who don't have criminal records. So, I've kind of been forced into doing more detention work.' New Bedford police were asked to fill out a report but refused at first, she said. 'They said it's a federal enforcement action. We can't get involved.' They agreed to a report regarding the damage to the couple's vehicle after 'significant argument.' 'I was insisting. They said, no. You can go to the federal agency for that report. I said, how? You want her to contact the FBI, the ATF? We don't even know what federal agency it is. I said she needs this at least for her insurance company so she can have the damage covered. That's when they said, fine. Here's a report number. You can pick it up at the police station.' This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: ICE arrest in New Bedford: Attorney says wrong man, excessive force
