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Some of the 650 defendants arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in West Virginia last month have arraignments scheduled this week at the Robert C. Byrd federal courthouse in Charleston.
Pablo Dominguez appeared at 10 a.m. Wednesday before Magistrate Judge Dwayne Tinsley. A citizen of Honduras, he was working at the Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant in Nitro when it was raided on Jan. 16. He and several other workers along with the owner and his son were arrested.
The government says Dominguez and others admitted to having purchased a fake green card and social security number and should be considered a flight risk. Speaking through an interpreter, he pled not guilty.
Dominguez was among those arrested during the federal government’s Operation Country Roads from Jan. 5 – 19. According to a news release from the ICE office, some of those arrested during the operation had prior convictions for child sex abuse, drug possession and endangering the welfare of children. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Storage told the court the government has no record of other criminal charges against Dominguez but added, “We know very little about this defendant.”
“He has a child who is a U.S. citizen, which negates any flight risk,” said Michelle Fox, his court-appointed attorney. Since his housing was provided by the restaurant the court detained Dominguez but gave his attorney 10 days to find suitable housing where he can stay until trial.