FBI and DHS launch joint raid on law office of sanctuary city immigration attorney and judge who promptly resigned

A joint task force of FBI and DHS agents raided the Rhode Island office of a sanctuary city immigration attorney on Thursday.

The target of the raid was Joseph Molina Flynn, an immigration attorney who also serves as a municipal court judge in the city of Central Falls.

“Molina Flynn was the first openly gay person and the first formerly undocumented person to serve on the bench in Central Falls,” according to The Providence Journal.

Flynn reportedly arrived in the United States at the age of nine on a visitor’s visa but then overstayed the visa, thus becoming an illegal alien himself. He evidently has since obtained legal status.

Shortly after Thursday’s raid, Flynn resigned from his judicial post.

“As the Central Falls community knows, transparency and accountability are priorities of mine,” Central Falls Mayor Maria Rivera said in a statement. “In an effort to uphold the integrity and focus of the Municipal Court, Judge Molina Flynn has officially resigned his position.”

As to the specific reason for the raid, two anonymous sources told local station WPRI that the feds had been investigating Flynn over allegations that he defrauded clients who’d sought his representation on immigration-related matters.

That being said, the sources stressed that the investigation into Flynn began sometime before President Donald Trump assumed office and began cracking down on illegal migration.

The raid came as Providence officials were reportedly trying to delay the passage of a bill that would have granted special protections to illegal aliens. Why were they trying to delay its passage? Because of Trump.

“The change of course comes in response to a slew of executive orders this week from the federal government and threats to prosecute local officials who resist federal immigration enforcement measures,” according to The Public’s Radio.

The bill would have added to the city’s sanctuary city status by prohibiting law enforcement agents from proactively” providing their federal counterparts with intel on illegals in the Providence area.

The bill would have also prohibited “people who run Providence schools, places of worship, health facilities and courts from allowing federal immigration agents on their property without a judicial warrant for the purpose of prosecuting immigrants for being in the country without documentation,” according to The Public’s Radio.

Councilor Justin Roias, the author of the bill, told The Public’s Radio that he wants to delay the bill because of the backlash it might trigger from the Trump feds.

“There is a school of thought out there that I share as well, that being mindful of not becoming a target and having ICE double down on our city if we’re seeking to strengthen an ordinance already that has made us a sanctuary city,” he said.

However, while Providence officials aren’t moving forward with the bill quite yet, Mayor Brett P. Smiley is continuing to call for the local police not to cooperate with federal authorities.

“Mayor Smiley has affirmed that the Providence Police Department will not and should not be immigration officers,” the mayor’s spokesperson said in a statement. “The City has not and will not proactively collaborate with ICE to provide information and will not change this policy”

All this comes as Trump’s promised immigration raids have begun across the country, netting hundreds of arrests.

Vivek Saxena

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