A Massachusetts judge and court officer have been charged for allegedly helping an undocumented immigrant dodge immigration officials and escape court.<\/p>\n
The two allegedly allowed the man to exit through a courthouse back door while an immigration officer waited outside to arrest him.<\/p>\n
Boston-area judge Shelley Joseph and Wesley MacGregor have been charged with conspiracy and obstruction of justice.<\/p>\n
The man was in court on drug charges and for being a fugitive from justice.<\/p>\n
In their first court appearance on 25 April, both Judge Joseph, 51, and Mr MacGregor, 46, pleaded not guilty and were released.<\/p>\n
According to court documents, an agent from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) attended an April 2018 hearing for the man in a Newton, Massachusetts district court with the intention of apprehending him.<\/p>\n
The suspect, unidentified in court documents, was named Jose Medina-Perez, according to local media.<\/p>\n
The Dominican Republic native had reportedly been deported from the US twice, in 2003 and 2007,\u00a0the Boston Globe reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n Court documents cite an order, issued upon his second removal, that prohibits Mr Medina-Perez from entering the US until 2027, according to the newspaper.<\/p>\n The suspect’s lawyer allegedly told Judge Joseph he thought that Ice had the wrong man.<\/p>\n The indictment describes a subsequent conversation, captured by the court recorder, between Judge Joseph and the lawyer regarding his client’s pending arrest.<\/p>\n “Ice is gonna get him?” she allegedly asked, adding “I’m not gonna allow them to come in here.”<\/p>\n Prosecutors say Judge Joseph then arranged for Mr Medina-Perez to exit through a rear door as the Ice agent waited for the suspect in the lobby of the courthouse.<\/p>\n Judge Joseph and Mr MacGregor were both charged with one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice and two counts of obstruction of justice. Mr MacGregor was also charged with perjury.<\/p>\n The judge has been suspended without pay by the state Supreme Judicial Court judicial. Mr MacGregor recently retired from his position as court officer last month.<\/p>\n US Attorney Andrew Lelling, the top federal prosecutor in the state, said the charges were not meant as a political statement.<\/p>\n “This case is about the rule of law,” Mr Lelling said.<\/p>\n “The allegations in today’s indictment involve obstruction by a sitting judge, that is intentional interference with the enforcement of federal law and that is a crime.”<\/p>\n But the charges were met with almost instant rebuke from state attorney general Maura Healey, who called the indictment a “radical and politically motivated attack on our state and the independence of the court.”<\/p>\n The Massachusetts chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union called the case “preposterous, ironic, and deeply damaging to the rule of law”.<\/p>\n “This decision seems to have little to do with the actual facts, and everything to do with enforcing the president’s anti-immigrant agenda.”<\/p>\n The charged rhetoric underscores mounting tensions over President Donald Trump’s administration and its immigration crackdown.<\/p>\n Last month, US officials said the US-Mexico border was at a “breaking point” amid an “unprecedented” surge in migrant numbers.<\/p>\n Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"