Rajinder Kumar, a citizen of India who faces charges of manslaughter in Deschutes County, was arrested April 22 on the streets of Bend by U.S. immigration officials. Two weeks later, he remains in federal custody in the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington. Kumar, 32, was out on bail after being charged with two counts of manslaughter and three counts of recklessly endangering another person after a fatal crash on Highway 20 on Nov. 24, 2025 that killed a pair of newlyweds. The Department of Homeland Security said it wants to deport Kumar, who was working and living in the U.S. illegally, before he stands trial and faces the charges against him. The case raises questions about the nature of justice and a person’s right to a fair trial in the U.S., especially as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has ramped up detentions and deportations under the second Trump administration. It remains unclear whether Kumar’s case will continue to its scheduled January trial in Deschutes County Circuit Court, though Judge Wells Ashby has scheduled a hearing Monday afternoon to discuss the case. Andrew Ince, Kumar’s lawyer, said he doesn’t have clear answers on the status of the case and his client and said everything is “still in limbo.” “I can’t speak to the case,” Ince told The Bulletin. “Federal custody creates significant barriers to the case. I’m not sure anyone has a clear answer. It’s hard to predict. The process overall now has a wrench in it.” Anyone has a right to an attorney and preparation in their defense, he said. But Kumar is not getting those same rights. Ince said he has never been able to speak with Kumar since his arrest. Little effort to work with courts Professor Cesar Garcia Hernandez, of Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law, said it’s not unusual for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain someone who has pending criminal charges. In those cases, it’s “entirely ordinary” for immigration officials to make little effort to work with the court system, lawyers or judges to ensure the person in custody is able to attend court dates. Garcia Hernandez said people can debate if that’s a reasonable system. “Justice is in the eye of the beholder,” he said. “Certainly, there is an interest in the United States in allowing the criminal process to unfold, as it will. One measure of justice is simply to give the prosecutor, criminal defense attorney, and judge overseeing this criminal case the time to do the work that our legal system not only asks of them, but in fact demands of them.” Cases “collapse” the moment immigration authorities fail to bring the defendant into court for a required hearing, which often happens prior to deportation. Authorities can ensure defendants go to court, but they rarely do. Once a defendant is out of the country, the legal process almost always comes to a screeching halt. “(After deportation), there is next to no likelihood that DHS is going to allow the individual to return to the United States for purposes of being prosecuted for a crime,” Garcia Hernandez said. If Kumar is deported, “he will be just another person who is deported from the United States for violating civil immigration law,” said Garcia Hernandez. This circumstance has increased since ICE came under the control of the second Trump administration, said Garcia Hernandez. “The Department of Homeland Security has expanded its focus to include anyone who is potentially in violation … of immigration law,” he said. “As a result, lots of the people who are being detained by ICE or Border Patrol do not have a conviction history. Among the people who do not have a conviction, there is a growing number of people who are being prosecuted for a crime but that has not yet turned into a conviction.” At Kumar’s next court hearing — which he is likely to miss — the judge can decide whether or not the absence is in his control. Often, that means that bail money is forfeited to the court, he said. Determining guilt or innocence Oregon’s U.S. senators have weighed in on people’s right to a fair trial and the Constitutional bedrock of someone being innocent until proven guilty. U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley said, “The Due Process Clause in the Constitution ensures legal fairness, and it applies to all persons in the United States. We need to allow this case to proceed within our judicial system.” Merkley’s staff said they will be in contact with the victims’ families. U.S. Senator Ron Wyden said he considers “the following principle to be fair, simple and proven: People charged with a crime in a U.S. court should stand trial in a U.S. court where our justice system is designed to determine guilt or innocence.” Lauren Bis, DHS’s acting assistant secretary for the office of public affairs, wrote in the April 28 DHS press release, “Every time sanctuary politicians release a dangerous criminal illegal alien back into our communities, they are gambling with American lives.” The Northwest ICE Processing Center did not return calls for comment. The crash What happened on that snowy highway in 2025 is still unclear. According to Oregon State Police, Kumar’s semi-truck had struck a vehicle and was jackknifed across the highway about eight miles east of Brothers when it was struck by a second car. Jennifer Lower and William Carter, who had married for just 16 days, were in that vehicle. They died at the scene. Oregon State Police declined to provide crash reports for the two Nov. 24, 2025 incidents to The Bulletin because they “involve information where prosecution is pending or being considered.” Kumar was reportedly uninjured in the crash. According to an initial report by Oregon State Police, causes of the crash include dark conditions and a lack of active emergency warning equipment. As of December, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security lodged an arrest detainer for Kumar if he was released from Deschutes County custody. The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office was aware of the detainer but said it would follow Oregon law and not communicate directly with ICE or the Department of Homeland Security, said officials. Kumar entered the U.S. illegally in Arizona in 2022. He has a California commercial driver’s license and a work authorization. Kumar posted bail April 2 and was released from Deschutes County Jail. 20 days later, ICE agents removed him from a vehicle in downtown Bend and took him into custody. The nonprofit Rural Organizing Project filed a lawsuit in Multnomah County Circuit Court Tuesday claiming state police have violated Oregon sanctuary law by allowing federal immigration authorities to access Oregonians’ data through shared law enforcement databases for years.