A state judge in Massachusetts was indicted Thursday for refusing to allow ICE to take custody of an undocumented immigrant, according to court papers.
Judge Shelley M. Richmond Joseph, 51, of Natick, was charged in the case along with a court officer, Wesley MacGregor, 56, of Watertown.
In court on Thursday, the judge and court officer were released after appearing. The undocumented immigrant is in deportation hearings but not in custody and
“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," said U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling. "We cannot pick and choose the federal laws we follow, or use our personal views to justify violating the law."
According to officials, police in Newton arrested a suspect on March 30, 2018, for being a fugitive on narcotics charges. Officials discovered that the suspect had been deported twice and Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued a detainer.
On April 2, 2018, a plainclothes ICE officer came to the district court in Newtown to take custody of the suspect and was told to wait in the lobby.
But during the course of the proceedings, Joseph allegedly arranged for the suspect, his lawyer and an interpreter, to leave through a different exit, escorted by MacGregor.
“The actions of the judge in this incident are a detriment to the rule of law and highly offensive to the law enforcement officers of ICE who swear an oath to uphold our nation’s immigration laws,” said Todd M. Lyons, the acting field office director of ICE in Boston.
The defendant, who’s not identified by name in court documents, had been previously deported twice from the U.S., officials said.
According to the court documents, Judge Joseph arraigned the undocumented immigrant facing deportation on those charges, but later in the day she recalled his case. At that point, according to court documents Judge Joseph asked the ICE officer to wait outside the courtroom while proceedings took place.
The indictment includes court transcripts from the hearing which took place on April 2, 2018.
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