A Massachusetts woman is speaking out after a dramatic encounter with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents ended with her and her husband being forcibly removed from their car — despite their attorney advising them to wait for legal counsel.
Last Monday, Marilu Mendez and her husband, Juan Mendez, were driving along Tallman Street in New Bedford when they noticed multiple ICE vehicles following them.
As the agents surrounded their car, Marilu quickly began recording the encounter on her cellphone. The footage shows an ICE agent smashing the car’s back passenger window with a large hammer before dragging the couple out of the vehicle.
According to Marilu, the agents appeared to be targeting her husband but repeatedly called him “Antonio,” the name of another man living in their building. Believing the situation to be a case of mistaken identity, the Mendezes contacted their attorney, Ondine Galvez Sniffin, who instructed them to remain in their vehicle and refrain from speaking until she arrived.
Despite these instructions, ICE agents forcibly broke into the car, removed both Marilu and Juan, and detained Juan.
In an interview with Telemundo Nueva Inglaterra, Marilu described the traumatic incident:
“They looked for a hammer and they broke the car window and dragged us out of the car. Three ICE agents held my husband. They took us out unjustly. I tried to talk to them and ask them if they had an order to detain him. They didn’t respond or show me anything. They had no reason to detain him. We’ve been following the rules of this country. We are doing things the right way. That’s why we have a lawyer.”
Attorney Galvez Sniffin confirmed that Juan Mendez is a Guatemalan immigrant who is undocumented but actively working to regularize his immigration status. She emphasized that he has no criminal record. Marilu, meanwhile, is in the United States legally on asylum.
“My clients were within their rights, they were very respectful and following and exerting their rights and stating their right to remain silent and stating their right to have legal representation, and they were met with brutality,” Galvez Sniffin told NBC10 Boston. “They were met with violence.”
Juan Mendez is currently being held in a detention facility in Dover, New Hampshire. His immigration hearing is scheduled for May 7.
ICE has not responded to media requests for comment on the incident.
The situation has drawn concern from local officials. New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell issued a statement on social media questioning ICE’s conduct and transparency.
“The incident raises questions that require clearer answers,” Mitchell said. He noted that ICE appears to have deviated from its long-standing practice of alerting local police departments ahead of operations — a move he said endangers officers, agents, and the public alike. “It also may preclude opportunities for local police to help deescalate tense situations like this last one.”
Mitchell added that it remains unclear whether ICE is targeting individuals with criminal convictions or engaging in “an indiscriminate roundup of individuals with uncertain immigrant status.” He called for an explanation from the Trump administration.
As of now, Juan Mendez remains in custody, and legal advocates are closely monitoring the case.
