SEPTEMBER 7, 2019 3
By Maria Cramer
GLOBE STAFF
Shelley Joseph, a district
court judge accused of allow-
inganunauthorizedimmi-
grant to elude a federal agent,
is asking that “unprecedented”
obstruction of justice charges
against her be dropped.
InacourtfilingFriday,her
lawyers pointed to a 2017
memo from the Massachusetts
Trial Court that instructed
court employees, including
judges, not to help federal
agents detain immigrants
based on civil immigration vio-
lations.
Six months after the memo
was issued, Joseph allegedly al-
lowed Jose Medina-Perez, a
Dominican national, escape an
immigration agent who was
waiting in the Newton District
courthouse with a civil order.
In April 2018, a courtroom
clerk acting at Joseph’s behest
asked the agent to step outside
the courtroom and wait for
Medina-Perez in the lobby, ac-
cording to federal prosecutors.
A court officer then escorted
Medina-Perez out a back door
while the agent waited outside,
prosecutors said.
Having the agent wait out-
side went against the policy of
the Department of Homeland
Security, the agency that over-
sees Immigrations and Cus-toms Enforcement, prosecu-
tors said.
“It was, however, entirely
consistent with Massachusetts
policy,” Joseph’s lawyers wrote
in their motion, filed in US Dis-
trict Court in Boston.
Under the Trial Court poli-
cy, federal officers could seek
admission into a courthouse’s
holding cell to take custody of
an unauthorized immigrant,
Joseph’s lawyers acknowl-
edged.
But “nothing in the policy
requires a judge to permit such
officers inside his or her court-
room,” they wrote.
The policy states that a de-
fendant who is brought intocourt in custody and then re-
leased should be treated like
anyone else, even if the person
“is subject to a civil immigra-
tion detainer or warrant.”
“This case is unprecedent-
ed,” Joseph’s lawyers wrote.
“There is a reason why no state
judge has ever been prosecuted
for not facilitating the immi-
gration policies of the federal
government.”
The motion stated that no
other federal prosecutor has
ever charged a state court
judge for not complying with
federal immigration policies,
something state court judges
are free to do under the Tenth
Amendment, which limits fed-eral power over states.
“The federal government
may well have hoped or expect-
ed that Judge Joseph would
conduct her courtroom in a
way that was consistent with
its policies: where the nonciti-
zen would be taken and
through which courthouse
door,” the lawyers wrote. “But
it may not enforce those expec-
tations through the bludgeon
of the federal criminal law.”
Joseph’s lawyers argued
that the ICE agent was never
prevented from detaining Med-
ina-Perez just because he went
out a back door. Medina-Perez,
who was released from Newton
District Court on a drug pos-sessioncharge, would be de-
tained several months later.
His immigration case is pend-
ing, federal authorities have
said.
“Whether on the public
street in the front of the court-
house, or the public street at
the back, ICE was still able to
enforce its detainer,” the law-
yers wrote. “Nothing in federal
or state law requires a judge in
this situation to choose one
manner of egress over anoth-
er.”Maria Cramer can be reached
at [email protected].
Follow her on Twitter
@globemcramer.Judge accused in ICE case asks that charges be dropped
By Deirdre Fernandes
GLOBE STAFF
The owner of the now-shut-
tered Boston Language Insti-
tute misled customers and vio-
lated state consumer protec-
tion laws, Massachusetts
Attorney General Maura Hea-
ley alleged in a lawsuit filed
this week.
Siri Karm Singh Khalsa, the
owner of the language school,
was aware of the dire financial
situation facing the school in
the weeks and months before
it closed in mid-January, but
he actively recruited students,
encouraged them to pay in ad-
vance, and after the closure
could not give them refunds,
even though the company
guaranteed them, Healey’s of-
fice alleged in court docu-
ments.
“Boston Language Institute
was on the brink of financial
collapse, but the owner contin-
ued to enroll students and of-
fer special discounts for classes
that would never happen,”
Healey said. “We are suing to
get students their money
back.”
Khalsa disputes the allega-
tionthathemisledcustomers
and said that he has been
working to repay students who
had enrolled and employees
who were not paid when the
schoolabruptlyclosed.
“Mygoalistopayasmuch
as I can,” he said. “You can pick
things apart. I am sure I made
mistakes, but I never thought
the company would fail.”
The Kenmore Square lan-
guage school was a longstand-
ing institution in Boston. For
38 years it helped students
learn Spanish, Vietnamese,
and dozens of other languages,
along with teaching English-
language learners.
But it struggled financially
at several points in its history.
It filed for bankruptcy in
the summer of 2018, but then
lost its bankruptcy protections
in January, allowing creditors
to call in Khalsa’s and the
school’s debt.
In the wake of its closing,
students tried unsuccessfully
to get refunds, and many for-
mer employees said they are
owed weeks — and in some
cases, months — of back pay.
According to court docu-
ments, increased competition
from new language schools
that opened in the area hurt
the institute’s bottom line.
But Healey in court docu-
ments also said that Khalsa
and the institute’s finances
were closely tied. Khalsa, who
earned an annual salary of
$130,000, used his personalcredit card for business ex-
penses, the documents said.
The language school would
then pay off the monthly bal-
ance, both Khalsa’s expenses
and the school’s charges. By
June 2018, Khalsa owed the
language institute $186,
in personal expenses that had
accumulated over the years,
according to court docu-
ments.
Khalsa said he was work-
ing on paying back the school
and had money withdrawn
routinely from his own pay-
check.
Despite Healey’s lawsuit,
Khalsa said he remains hope-
ful about the language insti-
tute’s future.
He hopes to reopen the
school next spring, although
he said he is still looking for
investors.
“It’s an organization that
gave a great deal,” Khalsa said,
adding that the school helped
newly arrived immigrants
learn English and taught spe-
cializedlanguages to Boston
residents. “This is a viable
company.”Deirdre Fernandes can be
reached at
deirdre.fernandes@
globe.com. Follow her on
Twitter @fernandesglobe.AG sues Boston language school
to get back its students’ money
By Katie Lannan
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE
A supplemental spending
bill Governor Charlie Baker
planned to file on Friday will
include millions of dollars in
new money to help cities and
towns test for and treat certain
chemical contaminants in their
drinking water.
The family of chemicals
known as per- and polyfluoro-
alkyl substances, or PFAS, have
been detected at levels above
Department of Environmental
Protection guidelines in public
water supplies in Ayer, Barn-
stable, Harvard, Hudson,
Mashpee, Middleton, Shirley,
and Westfield, according to the
DEP.
DEP officials said all those
communities have taken action
to target PFAS, and the depart-
ment is undergoing a sampling
program looking for contami-
nation in areas where PFAS
have been found or are known
to have been used.
The budget Baker is filing to
close the books on fiscal 2019
will propose $8.4 million to
test drinking water for PFAS
contamination, and another
$20 million to support PFAS
remediation projects, accord-
ing to the DEP.
PFAS have been used since
the 1950s on non-stick, water-
resistant, and stain-resistant
products. They can also be
found in types of firefighting
foam used by military and ci-
vilian firefighters and at air-
ports.
Stephanie Cooper, Mass-
DEP’s deputy commissioner for
policy and planning, said water
contamination as a result of
PFAS is often found near mili-
tary installations. The depart-
ment has been “really actively
and proactively working on”
combating PFAS contamina-
tion over the past few years,
she told the News Service.
Of the new funding, Cooper
said, “We hope it will even in-
crease our proactive response
to this emerging contaminant
in the commonwealth and con-
tinue to protect public drink-
ing water.”
The $8.4 million for com-
munities to conduct PFAS test-
ing will be in the form of a
grant program administered
by MassDEP, Cooper said. The
money will be available for
testing both public and private
drinking water systems, in-
cluding wells.
The $20 million for low- or
no-interest loans for PFAS proj-
ects is part of $55 million the
Baker administration is pro-
posing for the Clean Water
Trust, along with $35 million
to fund water infrastructure
projects.
Others in state government
are also taking steps to address
PFAS contamination.
A bill establishing an “inter-
agency PFAS task force” earned
the endorsement of the Envi-
ronment, Natural Resources
and Agriculture Committee onAug. 26 and is now before the
House Ways and Means Com-
mittee.
Labeling PFAS contamina-
tion an “emerging crisis,” the
bill carries a preamble specify-
ing that, if it passes, it will take
effect as soon as it is signed in-
to law.
Also this summer, Attorney
General Maura Healey joined a
coalition of 22 attorneys gener-
al in urging Congress to pass
legislation to help states ad-
dress threats posed by PFAS.
“These toxic chemicals are
putting the health of our fire-
fighters, our military person-
nel, and our families in Massa-
chusetts and across the coun-
try at serious risk,” Healey said
ina July 30 statement. “We
need Congress to act immedi-
ately to protect public health
and help our cities and towns
ensure our residents are pro-
tected from PFAS exposure and
have safe drinking water.”Baker seeking big outlay to
address water contaminant
Access your Globe account online
atbostonglobe.com/subscriber100% grass-fed beef and other pasture-raised meat raised
right here in New York and New England.
Join our local meat share–we even deliver
straight to your door!
Steve Schubart’s Farm in Charlotte, Vermont
waldenlocalmeat.com 978.362.
Consignments invited
Impressionist & Modern Art
New York | November 12, 2019
INQUIRIES
Caitlyn Pickens
+1 (917) 206 1696
[email protected]
bonhams.com/impressionistMARINO MARINI (1901-1980)
Studio per Miracolo
bronze
43 1/3 in (110 cm) length
Conceived and cast in 1953-
Sold for $620,© 2019 Bonhams & Butterfields Auctioneers Corp. All rights reserved. Principal Auctioneer: Matthew Girling, NYC License No. 1236798-DCA
BOSTON GLOBE MEDIA
1 Exchange Place, Suite 201
Boston, MA 02109-The Boston Globe (USPS 061-420)
is published Monday-Saturday.
Periodicals postage-paid at Boston, MA.
Postmaster, send address changes to:
Ma Subscription Departmentil
1 Exchange Place, Suite 201
Boston, MA 02109-YEARLY MAIL SUBSCRIPTION
RATES FOR NEW ENGLAND
Seven days $886.
Daily (6 Days) $599.
Sunday only $390.For all other mail subscription rates and
information, call1-888-MYGLOBEor
visit http://www.bostonglobe.com/subscribe
Free newspaper reading service for
the visually impaired: Contact Perkins
Braille & Talking Book Library at
800-852-3133 or
http://www.perkinslibrary.orgRELEASED BY "What's News" vk.com/wsnws TELEGRAM: t.me/whatsnws