Adrian
A federal judge has paved the way for the deportation of a man identified by the Department of Justice (DOJ) as a top leader of the MS-13 gang on the East Coast. U.S. District Court Judge CLAUDE HILTON dismissed criminal charges against HENRRY JOSUE VILLATORO SANTOS, a 24-year-old from El Salvador, on Wednesday, according to his attorney, MUHAMMAD ELSAYED.
VILLATORO SANTOS was arrested during a raid on his Woodbridge, Virginia, home on March 27 and faced charges of being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm. Federal authorities described him as one of the top three leaders of the notorious transnational MS-13 gang operating in the United States. During the raid, law enforcement discovered MS-13 paraphernalia in his bedroom and garage.
On April 9, Attorney General PAM BONDI filed a motion to dismiss the firearm charges against VILLATORO SANTOS to expedite his deportation to El Salvador instead of pursuing a trial that could result in years of imprisonment in the U.S. The motion was briefly delayed by a federal judge on April 18 before Wednesday’s ruling.
ELSAYED told Fox News Digital that he filed an emergency habeas petition and a temporary restraining order to halt his client’s deportation. He confirmed that the government has now placed VILLATORO SANTOS in removal proceedings, ensuring he will have his day in court as mandated 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,” ELSAYED stated. He criticized the federal government, accusing it 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 questioned.
A spokesperson 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 also reached out to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for further details.
Under the Trump administration, targeting and deporting violent illegal immigrants, particularly those associated with gangs like MS-13 and Tren de Aragua, has been a top priority. Assistant Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, TRICIA MCLAUGHLIN, emphasized the administration’s commitment to combating these gangs.
“The gangs are getting desperate,” MCLAUGHLIN told Fox News Digital, noting that 2,394 illegal immigrant gang members were arrested in the first 100 days of Trump’s presidency. “This is just the beginning. 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.
Source: [Fox News](https://www.foxnews.com)
