Two Massachusetts justices sent a letter to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement calling on the Boston field office to stop deporting criminal suspects before their cases are completed.

Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Ralph D. Gants and Trial Court Chief Justice Paula Carey listed in an Oct. 23 letter 13 cases in which defendants indicted on criminal charges but were deported without the knowledge of the Trial Court or the district attorneys involved.

The letter argues those defendants have been denied a chance to fight the charges and the district attorney in each case was prevented from seeking justice on behalf of the victim.

“Among other things, it prevents victims from having their day in court, denies defendants the opportunity to be exonerated and allows defendants who would otherwise be convicted to escape punishment,” the letter states.

Marcos D. Charles, acting field office director of Boston Enforcement and Removal operations, issued a statement saying “ICE does and will continue to consider all factors prior to removing an individual from the United States, including ongoing criminal proceedings.”

One of those 13 cases is one involving Jose “Brujo” Ortega, a former little league baseball coach who was brought back to Boston in August to face child rape charges. He had previously been deported to the Dominican Republic in the middle of the prosecution.

Officials took “extraordinary resources had to be expended to extradite the defendant back to the United States from the Dominican Republic so that he could face trial," the letter states.

Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins raised similar concerns in August after announcing Jose “Brujo” Ortega, formerly of Roslindale, was brought back to the commonwealth. Rollins is also one of the plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit led by Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan challenging ICE arrests in local courthouses.

In Middlesex County, Miguel A. Interiano-Vivas was deported to El Salvador while he faced cocaine trafficking charges. He was detained in a public area of the courthouse on his way to a hearing on Jan. 9 before his case was resolved.

In Essex County, Jimmy Reynoso was arraigned on May 11, 2015 on armed assault to murder and other charges. He made bail mid-prosecution in June 30, 2015 and was deported on Oct. 27, 2015, while the case was still pending.

Committee for Public Counsel Services had a staff attorney or an affiliated private attorney working all 13 cases before the defendants were deported.

CPCS Chief Counsel Anthony Benedetti demanded that ICE stop removing clients before they get a fair trial.

“We agree with Chief Justices Gants and Carey that this is a practice that severely interferes with the state criminal process,” Benedetti said. "We urge ICE to consider the wishes of Massachusetts prosecutors, judges and public defenders and allow our criminal justice system to operate unimpeded.”