Oregon judge is accused of helping illegal immigrant drunk driver ESCAPE from her courtroom while ICE agents waited outside to deport him to Mexico
- Diddier Pacheco Salazar, 22, faced court in Oregon on January 27 over a DUI
- Judge Monica Herranz is accused of helping him leave Multnomah County Court so he wouldn't be arrested by waiting ICE agents
- Salazar is an undocumented Mexican-born construction worker
- He ended up being arrested by agents two weeks later when he returned for a further court appearance
- ICE is not conducting a criminal investigation into Judge Herranz but she is being investigated internally
- Judge Herranz is on the board of the Oregon Hispanic Bar Association
A judge has been accused of helping an illegal Mexican immigrant escape a courtroom where immigration officials were waiting to arrest and possibly deport him.
Diddier Pacheco Salazar, 22, appeared before Judge Monica Herranz to plead guilty in a DUI case on January 27 in Multnomah County, Oregon.
Salazar entered the courtroom with his lawyer but never came back out again.
Diddier Pacheco Salazar (left) appeared before Judge Monica Herranz (right) to plead guilty in a DUI case on January 27 in Multnomah County, Oregon
Herranz is now under internal investigation after U.S. Attorney Billy Williams accused the judge of letting Salazar leave through her private entrance after staff realized immigration and customs enforcement agents were waiting for him.
Every courtroom in the Multnomah County Circuit Court has three doors - one for the public, a private judge entrance and one for inmates to be brought in from jail.
Williams told KOIN the only explanation was that Herranz - who is on the board of the Oregon Hispanic Bar Association - or a member of her staff helped Salazar to leave through another door.
ICE agents brought the matter to Williams after the incident allowed Salazar to evade the immigration officials.
It occurred just days after Donald Trump signed an executive order to start building the wall on the U.S.-Mexico border and to crack down on the deportation of undocumented immigrants.
Salazar entered the courtroom at Multnomah County Circuit Court (above) with his lawyer but never came back out again
Herranz is now under internal investigation after U.S. Attorney Billy Williams (above) accused the judge of letting Salazar leave through her private entrance
'I felt that it was inappropriate and delegitimizes the work of ICE agents who are out there doing their jobs,' Williams told Fox 12.
'When you’re talking about the judicial system - whether it’s federal or by state - you have an expectation that people are going to abide by the law and not take steps based on their own motivations, their own politics.'
Salazar, a Mexican-born construction worker, was charged on January 1 with a DUI and initially pleaded not guilty.He changed his plea at his second court appearance on January 27 in exchange for a deferred sentence and participation in a diversion program.
Salazar ended up being arrested two weeks later when he returned for another court appearance. He is currently being held in Tacoma Northwest Detention Center in Washington.
ICE agents decided not to pursue a criminal investigation against Judge Herranz, but she is being investigated internally by Chief Judge Nan Waller.
Every courtroom in the Multnomah County Circuit Court (above) has three doors - one for the public, a private judge entrance and one for inmates to be brought in from jail
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