A judge in Boston has held an ICE agent in contempt after the agent detained a suspect while he was in the middle of his trial.
ICE agent Brian Sullivan arrested Wilson Martell-Lebron last week as he was leaving the courtroom. Boston Municipal Court Judge Mark Summerville ruled on Monday that Sullivan had violated Martell-Lebron’s rights to a fair trial and due process by detaining him during the trial.
“It’s a case of violating a defendant’s right to present at trial and confront witnesses against him,” Judge Summerville said. “It couldn’t be more serious.”
After dismissing the charge against Martell-Lebron for allegedly making false statements on his driver’s license application, Judge Summerville filed a contempt charge against Sullivan. The charge could lead to a review by Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden to decide if further legal action is needed.
Ryan Sullivan, one of Martell-Lebron’s attorneys, called ICE’s actions “reprehensible.” “Law enforcement agents have a job to see justice is done. Prosecutors have a job to see justice is done. There is no greater injustice in my mind than the government arresting someone, without identifying themselves, and preventing them from exercising their constitutionally guaranteed right to a jury trial.”
The detention comes amid ongoing tensions in Boston over how immigration enforcement is handled. Under the Trump administration, officials like Tom Homan, Trump’s border czar, and Republican lawmakers criticized Boston for not doing enough to deport individuals charged with violent crimes. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, up for reelection, has said she wants the city to remain a welcoming place for immigrants, and the city’s policies limit cooperation with immigration enforcement.
Sullivan described a chaotic scene, saying ICE agents grabbed Martell-Lebron as he was leaving the courtroom, didn’t identify themselves, threw him into a pickup truck, and drove away. At the time, the trial had just started with opening statements and witnesses.
Sullivan confirmed that Martell-Lebron, who is from the Dominican Republic and living with family in Massachusetts, is now being held at the Plymouth detention facility for allegedly being undocumented.
“What we were challenging is that they arrested him in the middle of his trial and did not return him,” Sullivan said. “If he had been brought to court on Friday morning by ICE, we would not have moved to dismiss. We would not be asking for sanctions. We would have just finished the trial.”
During Trump’s presidency, ICE agents began making arrests more often in courthouses, which led to pushback from local judges and officials. Trump later rolled back a policy that generally kept immigration enforcement away from sensitive places like schools, churches, and hospitals. The current policy allows ICE to make arrests in or near courthouses if they have credible information that the person they are targeting is present.
Sullivan said that both the Massachusetts State Police and prosecutors knew about ICE’s plan to arrest Martell-Lebron. In a statement, the state police said they acted appropriately, adding, “As in any situation where a member becomes aware of federal immigration enforcement, the Troopers responded appropriately by neither assisting nor obstructing the federal action.”
James Borghesani, a spokesperson for Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden, expressed surprise at the detention. “We were dismayed and surprised when our prosecution of Wilson Martell-Lebron was interrupted by ICE apprehending him in the middle of his trial,” Borghesani said. “Any claim that we were aware of an attempt to prevent Mr. Martell-Lebron from exercising his right to a trial is false. It was our intention to try Mr. Martell-Lebron and hold him accountable for the crimes alleged in the complaint. Federal authorities should not have detained him and interfered with our efforts to hold him accountable.”
The contempt charge is now being investigated by the Suffolk District Attorney’s Office.
This case highlights ongoing tensions between state and federal officials on how to handle immigration enforcement. In 2019, two district attorneys in Massachusetts sued the federal government to stop courthouse arrests but dropped the case after President Biden took office. Additionally, Newton District Judge Shelley Joseph faced charges for allegedly helping a man who was living in the U.S. illegally avoid ICE. The charges were dropped after she agreed to refer herself to a state agency that investigates judicial misconduct.
