CHARLESTON, WV – A federal judge out of West Virginia has attracted the attention and ire of the Trump administration after reportedly freeing illegal immigrants from custody who were apprehended by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) earlier this year, with the judge claiming ICE agents’ use of face coverings during arrests violates the Fourth Amendment.
U.S. District Judge Joseph Goodwin has been embroiled in an ostensible crusade of sorts against the Trump administration as of late, taking particular issue with the means and methods of ICE agents and their law enforcement partners as it relates to the apprehension of illegal immigrants within his court’s jurisdiction.
Following over 600 apprehensions carried out this past January in West Virginia, as part of Operation Country Roads, Judge Goodwin has been using his endowed authority on the bench to release some of the illegal aliens apprehended via the aforementioned operation.
In Judge Goodwin’s rulings regarding these contentious cases, he alleged violations of the Fifth Amendment and Fourth Amendment, reportedly singling out ICE agents’ use of unmarked vehicles and masks as being part of the alleged Fourth Amendment violations.
Judge Goodwin also leaned on alleged due process violations when citing the Fifth Amendment, where in one case involving an illegal alien apprehended back in February the judge stated, “There is no evidence in the record that petitioner is a danger to the community or a flight risk, and there is sufficient evidence that he has community ties. Still, he has been afforded no hearing. This violates his due process rights.”
The community ties Judge Goodwin was referring to in the aforementioned case were the two children the illegal alien, Miguel Antonio Dominguez Izaguirre, fathered while being unlawfully present within the United States.
Republican Rep. Carol Miller, who represents West Virginia, responded to Judge Goodwin’s antics from the bench which she characterized as political activism rather than adherence to the law, stating, “If Judge Goodwin experienced even 1% of the threats and harassment that ICE officers receive, he might have had the courage to make a ruling based on the law and not his personal political agenda.”
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson addressed Judge Goodwin’s criticisms over masked federal agents, saying, “ICE officers are facing a 1,300% increase in assaults against them because of dangerous, untrue smears from elected Democrats.”
One such order where Judge Goodwin made mention of masked federal agents alleged that “no specific danger has been identified that required these agents to be masked for this arrest,” which Jackson rebutted the notion as being unfounded and divorced from reality.
“ICE officers wear masks to protect themselves and their families from being doxed,” Jackson stated, adding, “ICE officers act heroically to enforce the law and protect American communities with the utmost professionalism. Anyone pointing the finger at law enforcement officers instead of the criminals is simply doing the bidding of criminal illegal aliens.”
Republican Rep. Riley Moore, who also represents West Virginia in Congress, found Judge Goodwin’s rulings pertaining to masked federal agents absurd, saying, “ICE agents are being doxxed, and their families are being attacked by radical leftists just for doing their jobs. We’ve seen time and again what violent leftists are capable of, and our ICE agents should never be subjected to this terrible treatment.”
A Justice Department spokesperson commented on the efforts coming from judges like Goodwin to undermine federal immigration enforcement, saying, “This Department of Justice is focused on law and order, public safety, and will not tolerate any violence directed toward law enforcement officials working tirelessly to keep Americans safe, despite the best efforts of activist judges who’d rather see violent illegal criminals walk free.”
U.S. District Judge Joseph Goodwin has been embroiled in an ostensible crusade of sorts against the Trump administration as of late, taking particular issue with the means and methods of ICE agents and their law enforcement partners as it relates to the apprehension of illegal immigrants within his court’s jurisdiction.
Following over 600 apprehensions carried out this past January in West Virginia, as part of Operation Country Roads, Judge Goodwin has been using his endowed authority on the bench to release some of the illegal aliens apprehended via the aforementioned operation.
In Judge Goodwin’s rulings regarding these contentious cases, he alleged violations of the Fifth Amendment and Fourth Amendment, reportedly singling out ICE agents’ use of unmarked vehicles and masks as being part of the alleged Fourth Amendment violations.
Judge Goodwin also leaned on alleged due process violations when citing the Fifth Amendment, where in one case involving an illegal alien apprehended back in February the judge stated, “There is no evidence in the record that petitioner is a danger to the community or a flight risk, and there is sufficient evidence that he has community ties. Still, he has been afforded no hearing. This violates his due process rights.”
The community ties Judge Goodwin was referring to in the aforementioned case were the two children the illegal alien, Miguel Antonio Dominguez Izaguirre, fathered while being unlawfully present within the United States.
Republican Rep. Carol Miller, who represents West Virginia, responded to Judge Goodwin’s antics from the bench which she characterized as political activism rather than adherence to the law, stating, “If Judge Goodwin experienced even 1% of the threats and harassment that ICE officers receive, he might have had the courage to make a ruling based on the law and not his personal political agenda.”
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson addressed Judge Goodwin’s criticisms over masked federal agents, saying, “ICE officers are facing a 1,300% increase in assaults against them because of dangerous, untrue smears from elected Democrats.”
One such order where Judge Goodwin made mention of masked federal agents alleged that “no specific danger has been identified that required these agents to be masked for this arrest,” which Jackson rebutted the notion as being unfounded and divorced from reality.
“ICE officers wear masks to protect themselves and their families from being doxed,” Jackson stated, adding, “ICE officers act heroically to enforce the law and protect American communities with the utmost professionalism. Anyone pointing the finger at law enforcement officers instead of the criminals is simply doing the bidding of criminal illegal aliens.”
Republican Rep. Riley Moore, who also represents West Virginia in Congress, found Judge Goodwin’s rulings pertaining to masked federal agents absurd, saying, “ICE agents are being doxxed, and their families are being attacked by radical leftists just for doing their jobs. We’ve seen time and again what violent leftists are capable of, and our ICE agents should never be subjected to this terrible treatment.”
A Justice Department spokesperson commented on the efforts coming from judges like Goodwin to undermine federal immigration enforcement, saying, “This Department of Justice is focused on law and order, public safety, and will not tolerate any violence directed toward law enforcement officials working tirelessly to keep Americans safe, despite the best efforts of activist judges who’d rather see violent illegal criminals walk free.”
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