Overview

• Video footage shows ICE agents using a hammer to smash a car window and forcibly detain Juan Francisco-Mendez in New Bedford, Massachusetts, on April 14, 2025.
• Mendez, a 29-year-old Guatemalan national awaiting asylum approval, was mistakenly detained despite ICE reportedly seeking a different individual.
• A federal judge in New Hampshire has ordered ICE to provide Mendez's attorneys with 72 hours' notice before any transfer, allowing time for legal action.
• New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell has criticized ICE's actions, questioning the lack of local police notification and the agency's use of force.
• The incident has intensified scrutiny of the Trump administration's expanded ICE operations, which have removed prior enforcement constraints and heightened fears in immigrant communities.