Accused MS-13 ringleader one step closer to deportation after judge dismisses charges
A federal judge has cleared the way for a man described by the Department of Justice (DOJ) as MS-13's leader on the East Coast to be deported.
U.S. District Court Judge Claude Hilton dismissed criminal charges against Henrry Josue Villatoro Santos, 24, of El Salvador on Wednesday, according to his lawyer, Muhammad Elsayed.
Villatoro Santos was arrested during a raid on his Woodbridge, Virginia, home on March 27 and was charged with being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm. He was considered one of the top three leaders of the vicious transnational MS-13 gang living in the United States, and federal authorities noted that they had found MS-13 indicia in his bedroom and garage.
On April 9, Attorney General Pam Bondi filed a motion to dismiss the gun charges against Villatoro Santos in an effort to have him immediately deported to El Salvador, rather than standing trial and potentially spending years in a U.S. prison.
That motion was briefly delayed by a federal judge on April 18, before Wednesday's decision was handed down.
Elsayed told Fox News Digital that he filed an emergency habeas petition and a temporary restraining order against the government to stop his client's deportation.
He said that since Wednesday's hearing, "the government has finally confirmed that it has placed Mr. Villatoro in removal proceedings and that he will be given his day in court as required by law."
"No one in America should have to wonder whether they will be afforded their basic due process rights when they are detained by the government, and no one should live in fear that they may be forcibly disappeared to a foreign autocracy in the middle of the night," he said.
He accused the federal government of turning the case into a "publicity stunt."
"If we do away with due process for alleged undocumented immigrants, then American citizens are equally at risk of being unlawfully deported—how do you prove that you are not in the country illegally if you are never given your day in [court]?" Elsayed asked.
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Virginia declined to comment, citing the ongoing nature of the case.
Fox News Digital reached out to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Since President Donald Trump was inaugurated in January, his administration has made it a top priority to arrest and deport the most violent illegal aliens in the country, cracking down especially hard on MS-13 and the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
Assistant Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital that the gangs are "getting desperate," and that 2,394 illegal immigrant gang members were arrested in Trump's first 100 days.
"This is just the beginning," she said. "This is just 100 days. We want to get these arrest numbers up. We want to get MS-13, Tren de Aragua — these really bad actors — out of our country. And that's what we're going to deliver on," she said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
18 minutes ago
- USA Today
Huckabee: State Department is evacuating Americans from Israel amid Iran conflict
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee also posted actions people can take to remain safe including learning the location of the nearest bomb shelters. The State Department has begun evacuating American citizens and permanent residents from Israel and the West Bank, U.S Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee announced on social media as the Israel-Iran war enters a second week. 'The Department of State has begun assisted departure flights from Israel,' Huckabee wrote in a post on X on June 21 asking people seeking government assistance to fill out a form. Huckabee also posted actions people can take to remain safe including learning the location of the nearest bomb shelters, avoiding large gatherings and monitoring local media. The State Department did not immediately respond to questions asking about the number of Americans it expects to retrieve from Israel. The conflict started a week ago when Israel began conducting airstrikes against Iranian nuclear and military sites, primarily targeting uranium enrichment facilities to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. The two countries have been engaged in aerial strikes while President Donald Trump is mulling over the possibility of U.S. involvement to help Israel destroy Iranian nuclear facilities. Hundreds of Americans have left Iran in the last week, according to an internal State Department cable seen by Reuters. Trump is expected meet his national security team on the evening of June 21 to discuss possible U.S. involvement in the conflict .
Chicago Tribune
2 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Mahmoud Khalil vows to continue protesting Israel's war in Gaza after coming back home
CONCORD, N.H. — A Palestinian activist who was detained for more than three months pushed his infant son's stroller with one hand and pumped his fist in the air with the other as supporters welcomed him home Saturday. Mahmoud Khalil greeted friends and spoke briefly to reporters Saturday at New Jersey's Newark International Airport a day after leaving a federal immigration facility in Louisiana. A former Columbia University graduate student and symbol of President Donald Trump 's clampdown on campus protests, he vowed to continue protesting Israel's war in Gaza. 'The U.S. government is funding this genocide, and Columbia University is investing in this genocide,' he said. 'This is why I will continue to protest with everyone of you. Not only if they threaten me with detention. Even if they would kill me, I would still speak up for Palestine.' Khalil, a legal U.S. resident whose wife gave birth during his 104 days of detention, said he also will speak up for the immigrants he left behind in the detention center. 'Whether you are a citizen, an immigrant, anyone in this land, you're not illegal. That doesn't make you less of a human,' he said. The 30-year-old international affairs student wasn't accused of breaking any laws during the protests at Columbia. However, the government has said noncitizens who participate in such demonstrations should be expelled from the U.S. for expressing views the administration considers to be antisemitic and 'pro-Hamas,' referring to the Palestinian militant group that attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Khalil was released after U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz said it would be 'highly, highly unusual' for the government to continue detaining a legal U.S. resident who was unlikely to flee and hadn't been accused of any violence. The government filed notice Friday evening that it is appealing Khalil's release. Joining Khalil at the airport, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York said his detention violated the First Amendment and was 'an affront to every American.' 'He has been accused, baselessly, of horrific allegations simply because the Trump administration and our overall establishment disagrees with his political speech,' she said. 'The Trump administration knows that they are waging a losing legal battle,' Ocasio-Cortez added. 'They are violating the law, and they know that they are violating the law.'
New York Post
3 hours ago
- New York Post
US, POW/MIA flags turned upside down at three Brooklyn parks
United States and POW/MIA flags were hoisted and hung upside down at three separate sites in southern Brooklyn Friday, infuriating locals who blamed the disrespect on anti-American, far-left policies being pushed by New York pols. The city Parks Department confirmed it sent crews Friday to fix the improperly-flying flags at John J. Carty Park and the Fort Hamilton Triangle in Bay Ridge, and Bath Beach Park in Bensonhurst. Carty Park is – next door to the Fort Hamilton Army base. Hanging the American flag upside down is considered a distress signal under the U.S. flag code, but it's also widely used as a stunt to show disrespect for the U.S. and its government. 'I'm honestly shocked this happened in Bay Ridge,'' said Michael Ragusa, a southern Brooklyn GOP operative and city correction officer. 'Just a few years ago, it was one of the last solid Republican neighborhoods left in Brooklyn. Now, it's clear that the same un-American behavior spreading across the country is taking root right here — and New York City politicians are helping fuel it.' 5 United States and POW/MIA flags were spotted hung upside down at three separate sites in southern Brooklyn Friday – including this one at John J. Carty Park in Bay Ridge near the Fort Hamilton Army Base. Obtained by the New York Post Ragusa ripped Democratic Councilman Justin Brannan, who represents Bay Ridge, for joking on X that state Conservative Party Chairman Gerard Kassar was behind the flag fiasco. 'It shows he's not serious — about his job, his constituents, or this country,' Ragusa said. 5 The flags at John J. Carty Park in Bay Ridge were fixed and flown correctly later Friday. New York Post The Parks Department said it alerted regional parks managers in Brooklyn to be on the lookout for similar incidents, but declined to say whether it had leads on who disrespected Old Glory. 5 Councilman Justin Brannan (D-Brooklyn) joked that state Conservative Party Chairman Gerard Kassar was behind the flag fiasco. Stephen Yang However, two patrons at Carty Park said they saw teenage boys Thursday pulling the flags down by a rope attached to the flag pole – and then moving them around – but they said they didn't stay around long enough to watch them turned upside down. 'It's disrespectful because a lot of vets gave their lives for this nation,' said John Meister, 29, who was at the park Friday with his two young children. 5 Republican Michael Ragusa said Brannan's comment 'shows he's not serious—about his job, his constituents, or this country.' Both Brannan, who is term-limited and running for NYC comptroller, and Brooklyn Republican Party Chairman Richie Barsamian took credit for calling the Parks Department and demanding the flags be properly displayed after fielding complaints from residents. 5 Brooklyn Republican Party Chairman Richie Barsamian said he called the Parks Department to demand action after fielding calls for constituents upset that the flags were being flown upside down at Carty Park. Brannan said he made a similar demand. Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Post Barsamian, who is running for Brannan's council seat, called the pol's joke about Kassar 'terribly inappropriate' — and likely a reference to a flag-raising event Kassar is part of each Memorial Day in Bay Ridge. Brannan through a spokesperson insisted he respects the American flag, adding it 'belongs to all of us – not any one political party.' 'Nobody should be messing with a flag like that,' he said. 'It's disrespectful to all who fought and died upholding our values.'
