A Guatemalan man was forcefully detained by ICE agents in Massachusetts after they smashed his car window—only to later find out he was not the person they were pursuing, according to his attorney.
On April 14, Juan Francisco Méndez, 29, was driving with his wife, Marilú, when they were surrounded by vehicles and approached by immigration agents in New Bedford, Massachusetts, according to South Coast Today.
The couple, both immigrants from Guatemala, had been living legally in the U.S., with Marilú already granted asylum and Méndez in the process of finalizing his legal status. They refused to exit their vehicle, requesting to wait for their attorney.
Video footage taken by Marilú showed an agent, wearing a vest marked "POLICE," smashing the driver's side window with a sledgehammer-like tool. Méndez and his wife were pulled from the vehicle, with no warrant presented, and he was taken into custody.
"They pulled us out violently. They treated us very harshly," Marilú said.
Juan Francisco's attorney, Ondine Galvez Sniffin, arrived just as ICE agents drove off, and confirmed he was not the man they were looking for—ICE reportedly said they were searching for someone named "Antonio." Méndez has no known criminal record and was in the process of obtaining legal immigration benefits through his wife's asylum status.
Méndez is currently being held at Strafford County Correctional Facility in Dover, New Hampshire, awaiting a bond hearing in May. His attorney is trying to move the hearing up.
Initially, ICE did not confirm his detainment, and various federal agencies deflected inquiries, causing confusion about who was responsible for the arrest. Local police refused to file a report at first, claiming it was a federal matter, but later relented and agreed to document the damage to the couple's car so insurance claims could proceed.
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