‘It Was Clearly Criminal’: How A Massachusetts Judge Allegedly Helped An Illegal Alien Escape ICE

A Massachusetts judge, indicted for allegedly helping sneak an illegal alien out of a courtroom in order to avoid an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, is opting to fight the charges instead of accepting a plea deal.

Federal prosecutors charged Shelley Joseph, a Newton District Court judge, with obstruction of justice in April for allegedly helping an illegal alien sneak through the backdoor of a courthouse, allowing him to evade an ICE officer who was waiting to apprehend him. Instead of taking a plea deal that would allow her to avoid prosecution, Joseph is preparing to go to trial.

The case has divided many in the Massachusetts legal community and has become a symbol of the growing tension between federal immigration authorities and local officials in liberal enclaves. Massachusetts has aggressively fought to restrict ICE’s ability to enforce immigration law in recent, a backlash against the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

The prosecution, nonetheless, is arguing that Joseph’s actions clearly broke the law.

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