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By Dan Gooding
Associate News Editor
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A grandmother from Cape Verde who has held a green card since she was 8 is being held by United States federal agents, over what her attorney says was a misdemeanor charge from 20 years ago.
Eva Mendes, 48, spent nearly two weeks in detention at Boston Logan International Airport after Border Patrol agents detained her after she had visited her mother.
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Her attorney, Todd Pomerleau, told Newsweek that Mendes, who lives in Rhode Island, had missed the birth of her first grandchild while being held in unsuitable conditions.
“This case is just another issue of unlawful immigration abuse. It's just unconstitutional depravity, is what we're dealing with,” Pomerleau told Newsweek on Wednesday.
“After two weeks of her detention, I still have never been given any written charges for why she's detained. She's not certain why she's detained.”
Newsweek reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment via email on Tuesday afternoon.
Why It Matters
Mendes' case is one of several involving longtime legal immigrants now detained for previous minor offenses, which DHS now treats as reasons to detain and potentially deport individuals. Her detention also highlights the ongoing issue of conditions within federal custody, with DHS accused of using temporary facilities for longer-term custody.
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What To Know
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) detained Mendes at Logan Airport on November 5, as she returned to the U.S. from visiting her family in Cape Verde, following the sudden loss of her brother.
Mendes had not seen her mother for decades, Pomerleau said. She was held for 12 days at the airport on her return to the U.S. and missed the birth of her first grandchild.
She was finally transferred to the Cumberland County Jail in Portland, Maine, per ICE records. Her ongoing detention has worried her family and her attorney, who said he was unable to speak with his client before Saturday.
According to Pomerleau, CBP detained Mendes because of her criminal history and past convictions, which include a misdemeanor from around 20 years ago. Some of them, minor offenses from her late teens, cannot be used against her, Pomerleau said, adding that it was still unclear why DHS was holding his client.
Usually, federal officials will not detain a green card holder for petty offenses, instead allowing them to go home while holding onto their green card pending further proceedings.
The attorney said the mother of six has worked and paid taxes in Rhode Island for years, and her freedom and liberty were being denied with no obvious justification. He told Newsweek that Mendes cried on the phone when he said ICE should be able to release her.
DHS has yet to give further details on the case, including the reasons for holding Mendes.
What People Are Saying
Attorney Todd Pomerleau told Newsweek: “She's had a green card since she was in like first grade and has been living here her whole life. This is unconscionable. There's no legal justification for doing this to her.
"Even if they had a charge that could put her in removal proceedings, to deprive her of her liberty...liberty's the norm, not the exception in the United States, for green card holders. Due process applies to all, and when you take away due process from some, you have due process for none."
A GoFundMe page set up to cover the family’s legal fees reads: “Eva has spent her life giving to others — raising her children with love, working tirelessly to provide for her family, and building a future rooted in faith and perseverance.”
What Happens Next
Mendes is still awaiting a court hearing on her case, with Pomerleau calling for her release, arguing she is not a threat to disappear.
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