A Boston courtroom turned into the latest battleground over immigration enforcement last week after a local judge took the extraordinary step of finding a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in contempt — a rare and explosive clash between federal immigration officers and the Massachusetts judicial system.
ICE agent Brian Sullivan was overseeing a federal operation targeting undocumented immigrants with open criminal cases. But his decision to arrest 30-year-old Wilson Martell-Lebron as the man stepped out of a Boston Municipal Court courtroom triggered a chain reaction no one in law enforcement expected.
By the end of the day, a state judge had dismissed the criminal case, accused ICE of violating constitutional rights, and taken the remarkable step of holding a federal officer in contempt of court.
“It’s a case of violating a defendant’s right to be present at his own trial and confront the witnesses against him,” Judge Mark Summerville said. “It couldn’t be more serious.”
And just like that, a simple state-level criminal charge — alleging that Martell-Lebron falsely denied his identity on a driver’s license application — escalated into a national debate about immigration enforcement, sanctuary cities, and the limits of federal power inside state courts.
A Courthouse Arrest That Sparked a Legal Firestorm
Martell-Lebron, originally from the Dominican Republic, had appeared in court with his attorney to contest the identity-fraud charge. Jurors had already been selected. Opening statements were beginning. Witnesses were preparing to testify.
That’s when ICE moved in.
Multiple agents approached Martell-Lebron as he exited the courtroom doors. According to witnesses, the agents did not clearly identify themselves before surrounding him, placing him in handcuffs, and escorting him rapidly out of the courthouse and into a pickup truck waiting outside.
Within minutes — just as the trial was getting underway — the defendant was gone.
Defense attorneys were stunned. Judge Summerville was furious.
“It’s reprehensible,” attorney Ryan Sullivan said afterward. “There is no greater injustice than the government arresting someone without identifying themselves and preventing them from exercising their constitutional right to a jury trial.”
The judge didn’t just agree — he made it official.
Judge Summerville: “This Court Will Not Be Undermined”
With the defendant missing and unable to return to court, Summerville ordered the case dismissed on due-process grounds. But he didn’t stop there.
The judge formally issued a contempt finding against ICE agent Brian Sullivan, accusing him of disrupting the judicial process and violating Massachusetts’ legal protections.
The contempt finding now goes to Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden, who must decide whether to file formal charges or disciplinary actions.
While contempt charges against police officers are uncommon, contempt charges against federal agents are almost unheard of — especially in the heavily politicized arena of immigration enforcement.
“This court will not be undermined,” Summerville said from the bench. “Not by anyone.”
A Sanctuary City Meets Trump-Era Immigration Tactics
The arrest reignited longstanding tensions between Boston officials and federal immigration authorities.
Boston is a self-designated sanctuary city, meaning local law enforcement is prohibited from assisting ICE in many immigration-related activities. While federal agents can still operate independently, they receive no help from city or state police — a policy that became more entrenched during President Trump’s first term, when ICE cracked down on undocumented immigrants with criminal cases.
During Trump’s second term, immigration enforcement near courthouses and schools increased after the administration rescinded a 2011 Obama-era policy restricting ICE arrests at “sensitive locations.”
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, who is running for re-election, defended the city’s policy this week.
“Boston will remain a welcoming place for immigrants,” she said. “Our policies ensure that local officials do not assist in federal immigration enforcement unless required by law.”
Critics — including former Trump border czar Tom Homan — argue sanctuary policies put communities at risk.
“You have people with violent criminal charges walking around because cities like Boston won’t cooperate,” Homan previously said. “It’s outrageous.”
ICE Defends Its Operation — And Points to State Police Awareness
ICE has pushed back against claims of misconduct, insisting that arrests near courthouses are lawful when the agency has credible information that a targeted individual will be present.
During a two-day hearing, Agent Sullivan testified that:
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Massachusetts State Police were aware of ICE’s planned arrest
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Prosecutors were also aware
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ICE acted on credible intelligence
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Agents apprehended Martell-Lebron because he was in the U.S. illegally after a previous deportation order
Massachusetts State Police later issued a statement confirming they “neither assisted nor obstructed” the arrest.
That was enough for ICE to argue that the operation was conducted lawfully.
But it wasn’t enough for the judge — who insisted that the timing of the arrest violated the defendant’s rights, even if the arrest itself was legal.
Had ICE waited until the evening, or returned Martell-Lebron to court the next day, the judge said the case likely would have proceeded normally.
The Defendant: A Man Now in Deportation Lockup
Martell-Lebron is now being held at Plymouth County’s ICE detention facility. Attorneys say he has lived in Massachusetts for years with extended family, and that the state’s case against him would have taken no more than two days.
“What we were challenging,” attorney Sullivan emphasized, “is that they arrested him in the middle of his trial and did not return him. If he had been brought back Friday morning, we would’ve finished the trial. Instead, the government interfered.”
No matter what happens with the contempt finding, Martell-Lebron now faces deportation proceedings — and those proceedings will likely move far faster than any criminal trial would have.
Bigger Questions Now Loom
The Boston courthouse clash raises several unresolved questions:
1. Can federal agents be penalized by state courts?
ICE agents operate under federal authority. Whether a state contempt ruling has force against a federal officer will likely be contested.
2. Did ICE overstep — or were they enforcing federal law appropriately?
Even critics of ICE acknowledge the agency had lawful grounds to detain Martell-Lebron. The dispute is whether the arrest violated due-process rights.
3. Will this reignite the debate over immigration arrests at courthouses?
Massachusetts has been one of the most vocal states pushing for restrictions on courthouse arrests, arguing the practice deters immigrants from showing up to court as victims or witnesses.
4. Will the DOJ intervene?
If the contempt ruling escalates, the Department of Justice may assert federal supremacy — triggering a legal showdown between the federal government and Massachusetts judicial authority.
A Case That May Set a National Precedent
Cases like this — where state judicial authority collides directly with federal immigration enforcement — are rare. But as immigration enforcement intensifies nationwide, especially after recent high-profile crimes committed by undocumented repeat offenders, confrontations like the one in Boston are likely to grow more common.
And that means Judge Summerville’s decision could have ripple effects across the country.
Attorneys say the contempt ruling puts federal authorities on notice: if ICE disrupts state proceedings, courts may strike back aggressively.
ICE officials counter that sanctuary cities are obstructing lawful enforcement.
Caught in the middle are individual defendants — and the courts trying to keep their cases intact.
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