Backlash grows after Clinton-appointed judge frees migrants over ICE agent masking

A Bill Clinton-appointed federal judge is among several drawing criticism for continuing to order the release of some of the 650 illegal immigrants arrested by ICE in Operation Country Roads.

In one case that drew public attention, Judge Joseph Goodwin of the Southern District of West Virginia granted the release of Salvadoran national Anderson Jesus Urquilla-Ramos, a decision the man’s attorney told Bloomberg Law "reinforces that immigration enforcement must operate within constitutional limits."

In his order, Goodwin lashed out at ICE agents’ masks and warrant-free arrests, saying "antiseptic judicial rhetoric cannot do justice to what is happening."

Goodwin characterized DHS’ behavior as an "assault on the constitutional order [and] what the Fourth Amendment was written to prevent," according to WVMetroNews, and he permitted habeas corpus, a detained defendant’s ability to challenge his confinement.

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In Goodwin’s order releasing Yuri Aroca and Arley Valenzuela, he lambasted their detention after a traffic stop along the West Virginia Turnpike near Pax, West Virginia.

"I am not blind to the practical demands of immigration enforcement, including cooperation between state and federal authorities, but the Constitution presupposed restraint as the default of lawful authority," he wrote in his ruling.

Rep. Carol Miller, R-W.V., who represents the southern half of the state, did not hold back in her response to the situation.

"If Judge Goodwin experienced even 1% of the threats and harassment that ICE officers receive, he might have had the courage to make a ruling based on the law and not his personal political agenda," Miller said.

"Thankfully, he, his family and his home are free from the fear of doxxing and danger coming from the radical leftists — our ICE agents are not as fortunate."

Miller said masking protects ICE agents from those who want to harm them and keeps their families out of the "crosshairs of the mobs that continue to terrorize our cities."

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Operation Country Roads netted hundreds of illegal immigrants from Charles Town in the north to Beckley in the south, and many of the cases fall within the Charleston-based Southern District of West Virginia.

Moore Capito, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia, defended the state’s partnership with federal law enforcement in comments to Fox News Digital.

"We in the Southern District of West Virginia have the most committed and cooperative law enforcement partners that you will find," Capito said.

"Day after day, they are on the front lines working to keep our communities safe. Our officers take precautions to protect themselves and their families from retaliation, the same way members of the judiciary rely on institutional protections every day."

Capito said his office will continue to support law enforcement while responding to several petitions, adding that the cases involving the now-released individuals are ripe for appeal.

In one of his orders, Goodwin wrote that "no specific danger has been identified that required these agents to be masked for this arrest," a statement the White House took particular exception to.

"ICE officers are facing a 1,300% increase in assaults against them because of dangerous, untrue smears from elected Democrats," spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital.

"ICE officers wear masks to protect themselves and their families from being doxxed. ICE officers act heroically to enforce the law and protect American communities with the utmost professionalism. Anyone pointing the finger at law enforcement officers instead of the criminals is simply doing the bidding of criminal illegal aliens."

An Obama-appointed judge, Irene Berger, who also recently blunted a key tenet of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s "MAHA" agenda, ordered the similarly reasoned release of a noncitizen big rig driver detained at the Ghent Toll Plaza on the turnpike.

Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.V., who represents the northern half of the state, including Jefferson County, where local law enforcement collaborated with ICE to quickly remove suspects from the streets, agreed with Miller that judges should understand the dangers faced by agents.

"ICE agents are being doxxed, and their families are being attacked by radical leftists just for doing their jobs," Moore told Fox News Digital.

"We’ve seen time and again what violent leftists are capable of, and our ICE agents should never be subjected to this terrible treatment."

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Moore called Goodwin’s ruling "shameful" and said it puts ideology above protecting American families.

"I am grateful to the brave ICE agents who are doing their duty to defend America," he said. Gov. Patrick Morrisey shared the sentiment.

"We stand with President Trump, the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and we are confident that as these cases move through the justice system, the court will find that the protection and safety of federal agents is constitutional," Morrisey told Fox News Digital.

"We also stand firmly with ICE. The safety of law enforcement officers is paramount."

Morrisey said that threats of doxxing, targeted harassment and violence are "very real."

"There is a clear need to protect those who serve," he said, disagreeing with the tact from the bench.

"These men and women put themselves in harm’s way to enforce the law, and we will always stand alongside our fellow officers."

Some released individuals named President Donald Trump as a defendant, signaling the federal government would be the party to appeal. Others listed West Virginia corrections official Christopher Mason, ICE Director Todd Lyons and Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Asked about the cases and what next steps might be, a Justice Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital that concerns over agents’ tactics and masking have been "reaffirmed" through a recent California court case.

"Laws banning federal agents from wearing protective masks are unconstitutional," the spokesperson said.

"This Department of Justice is focused on law and order, public safety, and will not tolerate any violence directed toward law enforcement officials working tirelessly to keep Americans safe, despite the best efforts of activist judges who’d rather see violent illegal criminals walk free."  

Fox News Digital reached out to the rest of West Virginia’s delegation — Sens. Jim Justice II and Shelley Moore Capito — for comment.