A Guatemalan man detained last month in New Bedford after immigration agents used an axe to break through his car window is still being held at a New Hampshire detention facility despite a judge’s order to dismiss his case. Juan Francisco Méndez was expected to be released last Thursday after Immigration Court Judge Donald Ostrom threw out his case because immigration authorities had failed to file the necessary paperwork to charge him.
But Méndez’s attorney, Ondine Galvez-Sniffin, said Judge Joseph N. LaPlante denied her client’s motion for immediate release. The government had incorrectly assigned Mendez at least three Alien Registration Numbers, causing confusion and creating multiple cases for the court to process, Galvez-Sniffin said. Federal authorities had not filed any charging documents with the court as of Monday afternoon.
An Alien Registration Number functions as a social security number of sorts for immigrants going through different types of federal proceedings, Galvez-Sniffin said.
“The question that comes to me is — why are they doing this? And my only thought is they’re trying to punish my client. They are not happy about the attention that the smash and grab got,” Galvez-Sniffin said. “And this is their way of punishing my client, failing to file charges, and yet detaining him for a month. Possibly six weeks now if we go till the 22nd.”
Méndez has been put on the calendar for another hearing on May 22 under one of the other registration numbers.
Méndez and his family came to the U.S. two years ago, fleeing violence in Guatemala. His wife and son have been granted asylum, but his case is still pending.
“This one’s definitely one for the books. In my 28 years of practicing immigration law, I’ve never seen a mix-up like this,” Galvez-Sniffin said. “I’ve seen people with two numbers and that’s usually the case for [people with Temporary Protected Status], but DHS usually picks that up right away, and they merge the numbers.”
Méndez has been held at the Strafford County Department of Corrections in New Hampshire since ICE agents broke through his car window with an axe last month and arrested him on the street in New Bedford.
