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A federal judge in Texas had sharp words for trump administration Last month he dismissed a “largely fictional” case against a Honduran immigrant whom authorities accused of harming an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who broke the man’s car window during a stop.
“The government conduct It was—and has been—outrageous,” U.S. District Judge Javier Rodriguez, appointed by George W. Bush, wrote in his Oct. 20 decision dismissing the case.
The controversy centered around a stop in San Antonio in June, where federal agent And Texas troopers arrested Jaime Alberto Quintanilla-Chavez, 35, a Honduran immigrant married to a U.S. citizen. After receiving a tip from a Texas woman who claimed that Quintanilla-Chávez was in the country illegally and had abused her daughter, authorities considered the man an “easy target” and prepared to arrest him.
During the stop, agents ordered him to open the door of his truck and soon broke the driver’s side window. In this process, a Homeland Security Investigations OfficerWilliam Carl was injured in the arm.
Federal authorities accused Quintanilla-Chávez of obstructing officers and causing harm to them. RepresentativeDemand for punishment up to 20 years.
In his ruling, Judge Rodriguez called the government’s account of the stop “largely speculative”, pointing to various issues with the stop: the agents lacked a warrant; There was no evidence that Honduras had an expulsion order from the country; And officers asked about his immigration status only after they forced him out of the truck and handcuffed him.
Officers claimed the 35-year-old man was a threat to them, but the judge found the evidence did not show the man was trying to “attack, resist, resist, obstruct, intimidate or interfere with officers”.
Instead, according to body camera footage, immigration agent Carl is seen breaking the window out of impatience.
Immediately after ordering Quintanilla-Chavez to open the truck door, he can be heard in the footage saying, “I’m going to break my window; I don’t have time for this.”
In dismissing the case, Judge Rodriguez criticized the apparent “break car windows first and ask questions later” policy of immigration agents.
He wrote that upholding the indictment would “give immigration enforcement officials carte blanche to avoid the requirements of the Fourth Amendment”, which prohibits the government from conducting unreasonable searches and seizures.
Independent ICE’s parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, has been contacted for comment.
Despite the case being dismissed, Quintanilla-Chávez remains in custody while he awaits a November 20 immigration court hearing, according to his public defender Marina-Thais Donnett. told The Daily Beast, Who first reported the matter.
“We cannot let these encroachments stand unchallenged,” the lawyer said. He warned how “the aggressive tactics employed by ICE are becoming increasingly uncontrolled and threatening the fabric of our society.”
Immigration agents have broken car windows about 50 times since Trump took office, 1 july analysis That compares to only eight examples identified in the past decade, ProPublica found.
Courts across the country have expressed deep reservations about the tactics used by immigration agents as they seek to carry out the Trump administration’s record-breaking deportation campaign.
On Thursday, a federal judge Immigration officers banned from using tear gas and other riot weapons during mass protests in ChicagoA top Border Patrol official accused of lying in court about officer conduct.