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Federal agents detained three immigrants in New Bedford this week — including the owner of a North End bodega — in three separate operations.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents first took Roberto Osório González, 52, a Guatemalan citizen and owner of Quichelenses Market on North Front Street, during a biometrics appointment at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Office in Cranston, Rhode Island, Tuesday.
According to documents filed as part of a habeas corpus petition at U.S. District Court Rhode Island obtained by The Light, he was in the process of applying for a U-visa, issued to victims and witnesses of crimes, and asylum. As part of the U-visa process, he had an appointment scheduled for 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Cranston office.
“While seated and waiting to be called, he was detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” the complaint filed Tuesday said. “ICE took him to the Warwick [R.I.] Field Office and informed him that he would be moved to the [Donald W.] Wyatt Detention Facility … where he is now.”
According to the court documents, González, who arrived in the U.S. in 2002 and was not previously detained, received U-visa certification after his cooperation with law enforcement during an investigation into a robbery at his store in 2014.
Amy Romero, chief legal counsel for the Lawyers’ Committee of Rhode Island who filed the petition on González’s behalf, told The Light in an email that the manner of his arrest violated his due process rights.
“Mr. Osorio Gonzalez is a father of six children and a victim of two violent crimes,” she said. “It is especially concerning that he was arrested and detained by ICE when he arrived for his appointment to fulfill the requirements for his U-Visa application.
“This not only interferes with his due process rights to pursue immigration relief for which he is eligible, but it also sends a chilling message to victims of crime that if they cooperate with law enforcement and seek relief, they may become targeted by ICE,” she concluded.
A search by The Light of New Bedford District Court records revealed three misdemeanor charges of unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in 2010, 2015, and 2018, and a failure to signal charge from 2008, all closed. A statewide search by the Office of the Clerk of New Bedford District Court of criminal records revealed no further prosecutions.
Chief Judge John J. McConnell Jr., presiding over the case, issued an order Wednesday requiring the government to give the court 72 hours notice before transferring González outside the District of Rhode Island. A search of the online ICE Detainee Locator by The Light Thursday showed no records for González’s location.
Neither Kevin Bolan nor Milind Shah, the assistant U.S. attorneys for the District of Rhode Island assigned to defend the case, responded to an email requesting comment.
New Bedford street arrests
ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations agents were seen on the streets of New Bedford near North End early Wednesday morning as they detained two Central American men, one from Guatemala and another from El Salvador.
Volunteers from the New Bedford Chapter of LUCE, a statewide ICE monitoring network, said one detention occurred at 6:05 a.m. near the intersection of South Second and Walnut Streets. A second man who was on his way to court was detained at 8:05 a.m. on Nye Street.
“Witnesses reported violent and excessive force during one of the arrests, including an agent pressing a knee into a man’s neck,” the group said in a press release. “LUCE confirmed a coordinated operation involving at least five vehicles and six agents moving through our city today.”
The Light could neither obtain nor confirm evidence of the excessive force allegations. Representatives of LUCE refused to elaborate on their allegations and representatives for ICE did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.
The Light confirmed that one of the detained men, Gregorio Castro Coc, 36, had a trial set for 8:30 a.m. Wednesday related to charges of assault and battery on a family\household member.
A police report from the case alleged that Coc pushed his wife in the chest during a dispute on Jan. 6. According to the report, Coc admitted to pushing her and was arrested at the scene. Judge Joseph P. Harrington Jr. of New Bedford District Court issued a default warrant in the case Thursday due to Coc’s absence while in ICE custody.
A search of court records by The Light found an assault and battery on a household member charge stemming from an August 2018 incident, which was dismissed due to a failure to prosecute on Feb. 12, 2019. He also faced six charges of unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in 2014, 2016 and 2017, all of which were dismissed. The court found him responsible for an improper turn related to an August 2016 incident and not responsible for a tinted windows offense on that occasion.
The 2017 case involved charges of leaving the scene of property damage after colliding with another car in New Bedford. Those charges were dismissed after restitution, according to court records.
Judge Julia E. Kobick of U.S. District Court Massachusetts issued an order Wednesday requiring 72 hours of notice of intent to transfer Coc outside of the District of Massachusetts following a habeas corpus petition filed the same day.
The third detained man, Henry Hernandez Amaya, 34, an immigrant from El Salvador, faced a fugitive from justice charge in New Bedford District Court in 2011 related to a misdemeanor charge in Virginia, for which he was issued a suspended sentence. Upon apprehension in New Bedford, the fugitive charge was dismissed. He was subsequently deported.
In 2020, he was charged with unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. Those charges were dismissed upon recommendation of the probation department. In January 2021, he was charged with unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and leaving the scene of property damage related to an alleged sideswiping of a park vehicle. Both charges were dismissed that June.
Attorneys filed a writ of habeas corpus on Amaya’s behalf in U.S. District Court Massachusetts Wednesday, though no order has been issued in relation to it. Amaya filed for asylum in 2023, according to his lawyer.
Kevin G. Andrade can be contacted at kandrade@newbedfordlight.org. Eleonora Bianchi contributed to this report.
