Mayor expresses frustration with lack of communication after ICE arrest in New Bedford
NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (WLNE) — After a federal agent smashed a car window to arrest an immigrant in New Bedford on April 14, Mayor Jon Mitchell spoke to the media about the incident.
“The problem we have, and this is what I’m here to assert, is the we just don’t get good information out of ICE,” Mitchell said.
The video of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent breaking into a car on Tallman Street had been circulating on social media.
The agents took a Guatemalan immigrant, Juan Francisco Mendez, into custody while his wife caught everything on video.
Mendez had been living in the country illegally but said he was seeking asylum and that he had no criminal history.
Mitchell said the city didn’t have much information on the arrest, and added that could cause problems.
“All people see is that there’s this couple sitting in a car,” he said. “And these agents use a sledgehammer or some other tool to gain access to the car when those people, it appears, weren’t going anywhere.”
The mayor went on to say that, as a former prosecutor, he was all for getting criminals off the streets, but noted that ICE needs to directly communicate why they’re making these arrests and why they would need to use such force as they did with Mendez.
A spokesperson for ICE said that the organization deemed the actions of the agents as “appropriate:”
Juan Francisco-Mendez, 29, is an illegally present Guatemalan alien who was detained by ICE Boston in New Bedford, Massachusetts, April 14. 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.
ABC6 previously spoke to Mitchell about the possibility of immigration raids in New Bedford.
