ICE Can't Talk To Undocumented Immigrant Arrested For OUI Crash

AUBURN, MA—Immigration agents from Boston say they haven't been allowed to talk with an undocumented immigrant in jail awaiting trial for charges involving drunk driving that injured four people on Thursday, a crash that occurred hours after he was arrested on a warrant for driving without a license.

Jose Acevedo, 43, of Chandler Street in Worcester, an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador, was arrested on Thursday after hitting a car on Route 20 in Auburn, causing injuries to two adults; including a possible broken neck to the mother of the two children (ages 3 and 7) in the vehicle.

Police said Acevedo appeared to be intoxicated, and was arrested. Acevedo registered a .26 Blood Alcohol Level, which is over three times the legal limit. Acevedo later admitted to police to entering the United States illegally through Mexico from El Salvador and to not having a driver's license.

Acevedo had also been arrested earlier on the same day by the Worcester Police Department on a warrant for operating a motor vehicle without a license.

The immigration debate regarding how much cooperation local and federal authorities should was at the heart of a spirited meeting Friday on Beacon Hill.

Shawn Neudauer, ICE spokesman for New England, sent the following statement to Patch:

On June 9, deportation officers with the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal operations in Boston attempted to interview Jose Acevedo following his local arrest. ICE officers were unable to gain access to the individual because a court supervisor would not allow ICE officers to speak to Mr. Acevedo until the local court appointed an attorney to him in his state criminal proceedings. While Mr. Acevedo has allegedly admitted to local law enforcement that he is in the U.S. unlawfully, ICE cannot verify the accuracy of his alleged statements until our officers interview him and compare his biological data against federal immigration records.

Jessica Amaya told WHDH-TV that her husband didn't mean to do it, and she is angry that the focus has turned to her husband's immigration status. Amaya said that her husband was at the light when it changed and he was confused about the color it turned, reports WHDH.

Acevedo is being held on $7,000 bail and is due back in court in July.

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