Exclusive to Fox: A federal judge has mandated the release of an illegal immigrant affiliated with a notorious gang, despite his history of multiple unlawful entries into the U.S. and a criminal record that includes rape and robbery, as disclosed to Fox News Digital.

In a decision earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson, appointed by former President Obama, ordered that Carlos Antonio Flores-Miguel, a member of the MS-13 gang from El Salvador, be released from the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to information from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis expressed strong disapproval of the decision, stating, “This activist, Obama-appointed judge has released Carlos Antonio Flores-Miguel, a criminal illegal alien from El Salvador and MS-13 gang member, from ICE custody. Releasing violent criminals is inexcusably reckless and now this criminal will be able to perpetrate more crimes against innocent Americans.”

Carlos Antonio Flores-Miguel, a known MS-13 gang member from El Salvador, has been ordered to be freed by a federal judge. (Getty Images; Department of Homeland Security)

Flores-Miguel was initially released into the United States under the Biden administration’s policies in 2022, according to DHS reports.

On January 20, he was apprehended by ICE officers in Minneapolis. During the arrest, he reportedly resisted violently by punching and kicking the officers and attempted to grab an officer’s gun holster, authorities reported.

Among Flores-Miguel’s crimes in the U.S. include rape, resisting an officer, and illegal re-entry. He was previously arrested in his native country for robbery. 

“President Trump is enforcing the law and arresting illegal aliens who have no right to be in our country,” Bis said. “We are applying the law as written. If an immigration judge finds an illegal alien has no right to be in this country, we are going to remove them. Period.”

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer’s badge and gear.  (Michael Siluk/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Flores-Miguel illegally entered the U.S. in September 2016 and was deported the following month. He entered the U.S. illegally again and was removed in March 2017, DHS said. 

In October 2021, Flores-Miguel illegally entered the U.S. a third time and was released in June 2022. A judge subsequently ordered his deportation after ruling that Flores-Miguel could be removed to any country other than El Salvador.

His case “illustrated” the importance of third country removals to get criminal illegal immigrants out of the U.S., DHS said. 

A federal appeals court recently agreed to allow the Trump administration to continue to deport immigrants to nations other than their home countries, despite objections from critics who said the move puts migrants in danger. 

In her order, Nelson cited the administration for “recklessly” publishing Flores-Miguel’s photo on a DHS website, describing him as one of the “Worst of the Worst.”

“Respondents make no attempt to explain why Mexico, or any country, would agree to accept the ‘Worst of the Worst’,” she wrote. 

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