ACLU Massachusetts Executive Director Carol Rose is infuriated by Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling’s decision to pursue charges against Newton Judge Shelley Joseph for conspiracy to obstruct justice.

Lelling’s office asserts that Joseph obstructed justice when she ordered an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer, who arrived at the courthouse to arrest an individual who faced a fugitive warrant for drunk driving in Pennsylvania and an ICE detainer, to wait outside the courtroom. After consulting with the state prosecutor and defense attorney, Joseph asked the court officer to escort the suspect downstairs and outside of the building, after releasing him from custody.

“This is an outrageous case, and a real political case brought by U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling,” Rose said during an interview with Boston Public Radio on Tuesday.

Lelling stands by his decision, and rebukes the charges that the case is politically motivated. During an interview with Jim Braude on Greater Boston on Monday, Lelling said he “couldn’t care less what the underlying law was the agents were trying to enforce,” and said the fact that it was an immigration case doesn’t change his calculus.

Read more: US Attorney Andrew Lelling Doubles Down On Judge Joseph Indictment

“I don’t care if it’s immigration, taxes, drugs, whatever it is. My focus is on the conduct of this judge,” Lelling said. “To me, it’s not an immigration case. I know that seems counterintuitive to people, [but] it’s a rule of law case.”

Rose was skeptical of Lelling’s comments, and agreed with guest host and former Secretary of Public Safety Andrea Cabral that the decision to charge Joseph may have “[come] from the top.” Rose also defended Joseph’s actions. She said that as a judge, Joseph’s priorities are to ensure fair access to justice, and posting ICE agents in courthouses could deter immigrants from arriving for court dates or even reporting crimes, thus depriving them of their right to justice.

“Why are the federal ICE agents in the courthouses? They have no business being in the courthouses,” Rose said. “Access to justice isn’t only the right thing to do for civil rights and civil liberties it’s the right thing to do for public safety.”

In the wake of the charge, Rose called on the state legislature to pass the Safe Communities Act and H.3724, more commonly referred to as the “Access to Justice Bill,” which would curtail state law enforcement’s ability to coordinate with ICE and ensure that every citizen can attend court proceedings in safety, respectively.

If convicted, Joseph could face up to 20 years in federal prison.