The federal court in Rhode Island leveled a stunning accusation against ICE on Tuesday, suggesting that the deportation agency “manipulated” a case to force a judge to release a migrant homicide suspect so the Trump administration could attack the judge.
Bryan Rafael Gomez, the illegal immigrant, has since disappeared, said Hanorah Tyer-Witek, clerk of the U.S. District Court.
The clerk said it appears that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deliberately withheld information about Mr. Gomez’s homicide warrant in the Dominican Republic from Judge Melissa DuBose, who was overseeing a case seeking Mr. Gomez’s release from immigration detention.
Without knowing about the homicide warrant, Judge DuBose ordered Mr. Gomez released. The Department of Homeland Security then issued a press release attacking her for that order.
Ms. Tyer-Witek said the entire episode seemed like an ICE setup.
“This troubling sequence raised the question whether ICE deliberately manipulated the case briefing on the Gomez petition to set up Judge DuBose to release Mr. Gomez so that it could make a false attack against her,” the court clerk wrote.
After the department issued its press release, Judge DuBose, while complaining about the unfairness of the attack on her, gave ICE permission to rearrest Mr. Gomez — but he failed to check in and is now on the run.
The case is the latest flash point in clashes between ICE and federal judges who have been skeptical of the agency’s attempts to carry out President Trump’s mass deportation plans.
Judge DuBose and the Rhode Island court seem particularly incensed that the department has refused to take down the press release attacking the judge.
“The court remains deeply concerned about the conduct by ICE officials that led to this incident and about the false statement issued by ICE reporting on the Gomez ruling, which remains online despite the government’s knowledge that it is false,” the clerk wrote.
Meanwhile, the Homeland Security Department has doubled down on its criticism of Judge DuBose.
In an op-ed last month, James Percival, the department’s general counsel, accused her of “judicial misconduct” that resulted in a murder suspect eluding authorities.
He said Judge DuBose should have ordered Mr. Gomez to sit for a bond hearing before an immigration court, where ICE would have presented evidence of his homicide warrant and the danger he posed to the community.
Instead, Judge DuBose ordered Mr. Gomez released and said he needed a bond hearing only after he was free.
“In other words, the judge’s reckless disregard for the law caused the problem. The fact that the court lacked the necessary information to review Mr. Gomez’s custody status is the court’s fault and only the court’s fault,” Mr. Percival wrote in The Federalist.
The Washington Times has sought comment from the Justice Department for this report.
ICE arrested Mr. Gomez on April 4. He filed a habeas corpus petition challenging his detention on April 23.
ICE had made several social media posts between those dates, noting that he had a murder warrant from the Dominican Republic seeking his arrest. Yet Judge DuBose apparently didn’t see those, and the Justice Department said it was gagged by ICE from telling the judge.
ICE has not explained why it publicly talked about the warrant but ordered its attorney not to tell the judge.
The Rhode Island court defended Judge DuBose’s decision.
Chief Judge John J. McConnell Jr. said it was “appropriate,” given the incomplete evidence she was given.
Judge McConnell, an Obama appointee who has become one of the fiercest judicial roadblocks to the Trump administration, also faulted Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Bolan for agreeing to ICE’s request to withhold the information about the homicide warrant from Judge DuBose.
Judge McConnell said Mr. Bolan’s “error was serious” but apparently not intentional.
The judge said no formal discipline will be imposed on Mr. Bolan, though the scolding letter will appear in the case docket.
“Your lapse of judgment reflected a failure to prioritize your duty to the court over the instructions of your client, but you did not act for any deceitful or illicit reason,” the judge wrote.
Andrew “Art” Arthur, a former immigration judge and a fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, said he had never seen a court issue a statement like the one from the Rhode Island clerk. He said both sides should consider finding breathing space.
“This seems like a perfect opportunity for everybody to take a time out,” he said.
The press release attacking Judge DuBose’s initial ruling remained on the department’s website Tuesday evening.
Contact the author
Please read our comment policy before commenting.