A Honduran national who was ordered released from federal immigration custody by a Clinton-appointed judge has been charged with raping a woman in her Mounds View, Minnesota home two months later, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Marcotulio Melendez Diaz, 42, was working as a handyman on Oct. 11 when he allegedly overpowered and repeatedly raped the resident against her will inside her home. The assault was captured on the woman’s indoor surveillance system, officials said.
ICE says the case shows the consequences of judicial decisions that keep illegal immigrants out of federal custody while their cases are pending.
“This is what happens when activist judges side with criminal illegal aliens over Americans,” the agency said in a statement. “ICE arrested him, and an immigration judge ordered his deportation. But a Clinton-appointed federal judge ordered him RELEASED. And now an American woman has suffered a horrific crime that could have been PREVENTED.”
A Long Immigration History
According to ICE sources, Melendez Diaz was first apprehended at the southern border and released under the Biden administration in April 2024. He was arrested a second time in Minnesota in January 2026 as part of Operation Metro Surge and transferred to an ICE detention facility in Texas.
On March 30, an immigration judge ordered his deportation. Melendez Diaz appealed the ruling. While that appeal was pending, U.S. District Judge Orlando L. Garcia of the Western District of Texas granted his habeas petition on due process grounds, finding his detention had been unlawful or unreasonably prolonged, and ordered him released from ICE custody. That ruling allowed him to return to Minnesota.
On Oct. 9, the Board of Immigration Appeals rejected his appeal and issued a final deportation order. Just two days later, Melendez Diaz was charged with rape.
Charges and Potential Sentence
Melendez Diaz has been charged with felony first-degree criminal sexual penetration involving coercion. He remains in custody and faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted.
The case is the latest flashpoint in the ongoing dispute between federal immigration enforcement agencies and the judiciary over custody decisions involving noncitizens facing deportation.
Add comment