KEATING STATEMENT ON VIOLENT DETENTION OF FRANCISCO MENDEZ

NEW BEDFORD, MA -  Congressman Bill Keating today issued the following statement after sending a letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, FBI Director Kash Patel, and leadership of both U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services regarding the violent detention of Francisco Mendez in New Bedford on Monday:

"I am requesting answers from DOJ and Homeland on various issues surrounding Francisco Méndez's violent detention in New Bedford on Monday as well as demanding an immediate halt to any efforts to remove him from the United States until his asylum claim is decided. There is no excuse for how the Méndez family is being treated - they deserve answers, they deserve to be reunited, and they certainly should not live under the threat of their husband and father facing deportation to a country that the United States has already recognized as unsafe for them to return to," said Congressman Bill Keating.

"New Bedford's immigrant community has been a stepping-stone to success for new and first-generation Americans for hundreds of years. Simply stated, New Bedford - and our region as a whole - is stronger because of the generations of immigrants who built this gateway city and remain there today. Sadly, the axe that shattered Francisco and Marilu Méndez's car window in New Bedford is another tangible example of the Trump administration's cruelty-first approach that is focused on tearing apart families and causing fear in the immigrant community. I will always stand for due process and the rule of law, and I will not rest until these abuses end."

The text of the letter appears below, a signed copy can be found here.

The Honorable Kristi Noem                                       Mr. Todd Lyons
Secretary of Homeland Security                                Acting Director
U.S. Department of Homeland Security                     U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
2707 Martin Luther King Jr Ave SE                           500 12th St. NW
Washington, D.C. 20528                                            Washington, D.C. 20536

The Honorable Kash Patel                                          Ms. Kika Scott
Director                                                                       Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Director
Federal Bureau of Investigation                                 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
935 Pennsylvania Avenue NW                                   111 Massachusetts Ave NW
Washington, D.C. 20535                                            Washington, D.C. 20529

 

Dear Secretary Noem, Director Patel, Acting Director Lyons, and Ms. Scott:

I write with concerns regarding the detention of Mr. Juan Francisco Méndez on April 14, 2025, by ICE and FBI agents in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Per public reporting[1] and video[2] provided by Mr. Méndez’s wife, Marilu Méndez, the Méndez family was blocked from proceeding down Tillman Street by ICE officials. During their interactions with ICE the family made clear that they had called their attorney for counsel before exiting the vehicle. While awaiting the arrival of their attorney, agents repeatedly referred to Mr. Méndez by the name of a third individual “Antonio”[3] and refused to provide a copy of a warrant or any other evidence demonstrating their orders to detain Mr. Méndez. Despite Mr. and Mrs. Méndez clearly and calmly articulating that their attorney was on her way, and despite repeated requests for copies of a warrant, an agent violently took an axe to the rear window of the vehicle and proceeded to drag both Mr. and Mrs. Méndez from the vehicle to apprehend Mr. Méndez.

The Méndez’s 9-year-old son and Mrs. Méndez were granted political asylum in 2023. Mr. Méndez began the process of receiving derivative asylum due to his wife’s status in October 2024. As a part of that ongoing process Mr. Méndez provided biometric information to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in December 2024. Mr. Méndez is seeking an adjudication of his asylum status so that he can stay with his wife and child in New Bedford.

To better understand the shocking circumstances surrounding Mr. Méndez’s detention, I  ask that you provide answers to the following questions no later than April 21, 2025:

 

1. Why were ICE and FBI officers deployed on April 14^th in New Bedford?
   1. Was Mr. Méndez the target of a warrant or detainer order at the time of this incident?
   2. Were federal agents seeking to execute a warrant or detainer order on another individual on the 14th?
   3. Was a warrant or detainer order executed against the “Antonio:” referred to in the footage captured by the Méndez’s?
      1. Is this individual currently in federal custody?
   4. Were local law enforcement officials notified of this action prior to April 14^th as had been prior practice in New Bedford?
      1. If not, why was this notification not made concerning this warrant or detainer order?
   5. Which agencies participated in Mr. Méndez’s detention?
2. What probable cause was there to detain Mr. Méndez on the Morning of April 14^th?
3. Does Juan Francisco Méndez have a criminal record that makes his presence in the United States a risk to the American people?
4. Does the violent destruction of the Méndez’s car window, which resulted in shattered glass spreading throughout their occupied vehicle, comply with ICE’s use of force policy?
5. Does the violent destruction of the Méndez’s car window, which resulted in shattered glass spreading throughout their occupied vehicle, comply with the FBI’s use of force policy?
6. Where is Juan Francisco Méndez currently being detained, and when is his next hearing scheduled?
7. What is the status of Juan Francisco Méndez’s application for asylum?
8. Does the Department of Homeland Security have any evidence that Mr. Méndez’s derivative asylum claim is not likely to succeed on its face? If so, what is that evidence? 

 

Given that the United States has already recognized the asylum of Marilu Méndez and their son, it is of the utmost importance that Mr. Méndez’s application for asylum be reviewed forthwith and a determination made by as to his asylum claim. Until this determination is made no action should be undertaken to remove Mr. Méndez from the United States. I respectfully request the full and fair consideration of Mr.  Méndez’s application on an expedited basis and further request that, absent a criminal record, Mr. Méndez be reunited with his family until his application is adjudicated.

I look forward to your prompt response to my inquiries.

Sincerely,

WILLIAM R. KEATING       
Member of Congress