Thread: FL Felony charge dropped against immigrant challenging inde

Felony charge dropped against immigrant challenging indefinite incarceration

By SUSAN SPENCER-WENDEL

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Thursday, October 15, 2009

WEST PALM BEACH — A 28-year-old Guatemalan man at the center of a federal lawsuit over the continued jail detention of undocumented workers even though they are able to post bond has had the lone felony charge against him dismissed.

Marcotulio Mendez was charged with resisting an officer with violence and driving without a license following a May encounter with a sheriff's deputy in the Westgate neighborhood. Circuit Judge Karen Miller dismissed the resisting felony charge against him last week, writing in her order, "the defendant shall be released from custody."

The misdemeanor driving without a license charge remains.

That misdemeanor is only punishable by up to 60 days in jail though, said his attorney, Assistant Public Defender Dan Cohen. Yet Mendez has already been in the Palm Beach County jail more than four months.

"He should not be there," Cohen said. "He should be a free man."

Shortly after his arrest, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement slapped a "hold" on Mendez for unspecified immigration violations. Mendez, who entered the United States illegally in 1998, has four U.S.-born children.

Immigrants rights groups selected him as a test case and in September filed a federal lawsuit against Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, claiming he is violating immigrants' constitutional rights by keeping them jailed even though state judges have granted them bond.

An attorney for the sheriff's office has responded that the groups instead need to challenge the constitutionality of the federal regulations.

The felony charge against Mendez was dismissed after Cohen's multiple arguments pointing out what he contended were irregularities in his case.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/conte ... endez.html

Alright, so now he's ready to deport. He'll sneak back in, because of his 4 anchors. This is why the entire family must be deported together.

Catch him again and charge with a felony. Round and round we go.

One bright spot though. No chance of legalization if amnesty should ever pass. Wonder how many millions would not qualify because of this? Proves amnesty wouldn't work anyway.