Man jailed for lying to immigration officer

Triangle man now in Alamance jail

August 11, 2008 9:24 AM

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RALEIGH -- For more than three months, Maximiliano Mateo-Mendez has been held in Triangle jails, accused of lying to an immigration officer who approached him on the street in front of the federal courthouse in Raleigh to ask why he was there.

Mateo-Mendez, 48, said his produce business in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, has fallen into shambles while he has been in jail more than 1,300 miles away from his home.

``In the time I've been in custody, my business has been destroyed,'' Mateo-Mendez told U.S. District Court Judge Earl Britt through a Spanish translator Monday. ``I want to go back as soon as possible.''

Mateo-Mendez, arrested and detained while in this country on a valid Dominican passport and visitor's visa, may eventually get his wish. But he's still being held in the Alamance County jail, facing more accusations that he violated the terms of his visa, according to a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

On Monday, Mateo-Mendez pleaded guilty to making false statements to a federal officer after a prosecutor from the U.S. Attorney's Office offered a plea agreement that gave Mateo-Mendez credit for the time he was jailed, avoiding a maximum punishment of six months imprisonment.

Sworn statements from the immigration agent who arrested Mateo-Mendez said the Dominican citizen lied to him repeatedly about why he was in the United States. But Mateo-Mendez's defense attorney, Andrew McCoppin, said his client wasn't truthful only because Mateo-Mendez didn't want to worsen the situation for his two sons, who were appearing in court that day on criminal charges.

Mateo-Mendez's case highlights the ability of immigration agents to question people on the street without the probable cause that limits other police agencies. Immigration lawyers and advocates worry this will help lead to greater levels of racial profiling and have a chilling effect on the willingness of immigrant crime victims and witnesses to talk to police and testify in court.

``To allow immigration agents to come into the federal and state courthouse and questioning people is really going to pose problems,'' said Sara Dill, a Miami-based immigration and criminal lawyer.

Dill is a co-chairwoman of the American Bar Association's committee on immigration law and said the group is studying the legal rights of clients, especially as more local law enforcement agencies work closely with federal immigration agents to deport illegal immigrants who commit crimes.

A fine line

Although not related to Mateo-Mendez's situation, Wake became the seventh county in North Carolina to begin processing jail inmates for deportation. The practice is being hailed by the state's sheriffs as a way to flush out illegal immigrants who commit serious crimes. Latino and civil liberties advocacy groups fear that it could lead to racial profiling.

Robin Zier, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office said charging someone with lying to a federal agent isn't rare.

``I'm not going to say it's fairly routine, but it's not out of the ordinary either,'' Zier said.

And Barbara Gonzalez, an ICE spokeswoman, issued a written statement that said Mateo-Mendez was approached outside the courthouse only because of the connection to his sons.

Unlike the protocols at county courthouse checkpoints, visitors to the federal courthouse are asked to give their name and show court security officers valid identification, said Rob Pettit, the chief deputy of the U.S. Marshals Service's Raleigh office.

But the reason for the visit is not asked, other than to direct people to the correct floor and make sure those going to courtrooms don't have cell phones, Pettit said. An immigrant's status in the country is not asked.

Motivated by sons

After Mateo-Mendez's sons were arrested by federal authorities, the father flew to Raleigh on May 3 using a valid Dominican passport and with a visitor's visa issued to him by U.S. authorities. Along with a number of other Dominican citizens, his sons, Maximo Mateo-Espinal and Wilkin Mateo-Espinal, had been accused of illegally using Puerto Rican identities. The group is also thought to be connected to a number of recent home invasions in the area, according to federal court documents.

On May 7, the day his sons had their initial appearances in the federal courthouse, ICE agent Stephen Cardwell approached Mateo-Mendez and the girlfriend of one of his sons outside the courthouse on New Bern Avenue.

In an affidavit filed in court documents, Cardwell initially said that court security officers told him that Mateo-Mendez and the woman had tried to get in the courthouse using insufficient identification.

But the U.S. Marshals Services log shows otherwise, indicating that Mateo-Mendez was allowed inside the building after showing valid identification, according to Pettit. Cardwell's suspicions also were raised when a Raleigh police officer spotted a car a few blocks away from the courthouse that was thought to be connected to the home invasions, according to statements made by Cardwell at a May 29 bond hearing.

Cardwell testified he took Mateo-Mendez, his son's girlfriend, and two other women who approached the group while the agent was there, in handcuffs back to an office to question the group further after he determined they were being untruthful.

McCoppin, the defense attorney, questioned why Cardwell didn't call a number available to agents to check the validity of Mateo-Mendez's visa instead of taking the group away in handcuffs.

Even while being questioned at ICE offices, Mateo-Mendez continued to deny that he was there to see his sons. But the three women said otherwise.

``He stated to me that he did not know,'' the two men, Cardwell said, according to a transcript of a court hearing where Mateo-Mendez unsuccessfully asked to be released on bond.

Mateo-Mendez didn't speak at length in court last week, his small frame dwarfed by the red jail jumpsuit he wore. He only told the judge he was motivated by allegiance to his family.

``I'm doing this because those are my kids,'' he said.

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