NEW BEDFORD, MASS. (WHDH) - A New Bedford woman described the moment she and her husband were pulled from their car by federal immigration agents Monday.
Juan Francisco Mendez, 29, was arrested in New Bedford. He is currently being held at the Strafford County Correctional facilty in Dover, NH.
His wife, Marilu Domingo Ortiz, said she and Mendez were pulled over on Tallman Street.
“They asked them to lower the window, but since they didn’t do it, they didn’t specifically say they were going to smash the window, but they did say, ‘If you’re not coming out the right way, you’re gonna come out,” Ortiz said through an interpreter.
Mendez told the agents they were waiting for their attorney, who was on the way. Ortiz said they were following her advice not to answer any questions without her present. The agents eventually brought in a sledgehammer to smash the window and pull the couple out of their car.
“I was afraid. I didn’t even know what to do, and they did grab me and they pulled me out,” Ortiz said.
She said she began recording as soon as the agents approached the vehicle.
Immigration attorney Ondine Galvez Sniffin said the agents “grabbed the husband from behind to keep him from holding onto the front door, forcibly opened the front door, [and] dragged both him and his wife out of the car.”
“There was no need for them to use that level of physical force. It was completely unjustified, but it’s been happening, it’s going to continue happening because nobody’s stopping them,” she continued.
Sniffin said she believes the arrest is a case of mistaken identity.
“They were looking for someone named Antonio,” Ortiz said through an interpreter.
Their attorney said Mendez is in the process of getting legal status in the United States, and that he has no criminal record in the state.
“We also know that this is not our country and everything that is going on, we said, ‘If it happens to us, it happens to us.’ But, we do have everything legal. We are going through everything the right way,” Ortiz said.
Originally from Guatemala, Ortiz said she and the couple’s 9-year-old son already have legal status.
“It’s a very troubling time where the Constitution, due process, the law, is under assault by the Trump administration,” Sen. Ed Markey said of the arrest.
The cellphone video of the arrest is raising questions about the agents’ use of force.
“There are ways to apprehend people, there are to get bad guys, but this is a person smashing and grabbing someone through their car who has a green card, is working, is married, has a child here, no evidence of any criminal wrongdoing,” Gov. Maura Healey said.
ICE released a statement Wednesday regarding Mendez’s detention.
“During the course of his arrest, he 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.
New Bedford is not a sanctuary city and works with federal immigration agents. Mayor Jon Mitchell said the city was given a heads up about the arrest, but no other information.
“We need to know if they’re picking up somebody who should be picked up, who should be prioritized, and why they’re doing what they’re doing,” Mitchell said.
Domingo Ortiz says her husband has a bond hearing May 8.
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