A Honduran man who was released from immigration detention in August by a federal judge appointed by Bill Clinton has been charged with raping a woman in her Minnesota home two months later, federal immigration officials said.
Authorities allege that Marcotulio Melendez Diaz, 42, was working as a handyman at the Mounds View home on Oct. 11 when he overpowered the resident and raped her several times. The assault was recorded by an indoor security camera, officials said.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement criticized U.S. District Judge Orlando L. Garcia for ordering Melendez Diaz’s release, saying the alleged assault might not have occurred had he remained detained.
“This is what happens when activist judges side with criminal illegal aliens over Americans,” ICE said in a statement. The agency said it had arrested Melendez Diaz and that an immigration judge had ordered him deported, but Garcia later ordered his release. “And now an American woman has suffered a horrific crime that could have been prevented.”
ICE officials said Melendez Diaz was first apprehended at the southern border and released by the Biden administration in April 2024. He was arrested again in Minnesota in January 2026 during Operation Metro Surge, then transferred to ICE detention in Texas.
An immigration judge ordered his deportation on March 30. Melendez Diaz appealed the decision, officials said.
Garcia, a judge in the Western District of Texas, later granted Melendez Diaz’s habeas petition on due process grounds and ordered him released from ICE custody. The judge found that his detention had been unlawful or unreasonably prolonged, allowing Melendez Diaz to return to Minnesota.
On Oct. 9, the Board of Immigration Appeals rejected his appeal and issued a final deportation order. Two days later, he was charged with felony first-degree criminal sexual penetration involving coercion.
Melendez Diaz remains in custody. If convicted, he could face up to 30 years in prison.
