U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has arrested an individual identified as a documented MS-13 gang member, who possesses a significant arrest history featuring charges such as assault and burglary, ICE confirmed to Fox News on Friday.
Mykol Santos-Santos, a 25-year-old Guatemalan citizen residing illegally in the U.S., was detained by ICE officials in Washington, D.C., in Fairfax, Virginia, on Monday.
An ICE officer was injured during the arrest when Santos-Santos resisted.
Santos-Santos faces numerous charges and convictions, including assault and battery, burglary, credit card fraud, trespassing, various drug-related offenses, property damage, obstruction of justice, attempting to evade police, failing to appear in court, and violating court-issued orders.
ICE made the arrest after the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center refused to honor ICE’s 16th immigration detainer lodged against him. (Fairfax County)
“Mykol Santos-Santos is a habitual offender. He is a documented member of a violent criminal gang with a lengthy criminal history and represents an egregious danger to our Virginia communities,” ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Washington, D.C. Field Office Director Russell Hott said. “While we are happy to have arrested him, we find it inexcusable that local law enforcement refused to honor 16 separate immigration detainers against Santos-Santos, forcing ICE officers to make an at large arrest where one of our officers was injured.”
He continued, “We could have worked together with local law enforcement to arrange a safe transfer of custody. Instead, they decided to place politics ahead of public safety, and as a result one of our brave officers was injured. ICE Washington D.C. will continue to prioritize the safety of our public by arresting and removing criminal alien threats to our communities.”
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), agents detain an immigrant on October 14, 2015, in Los Angeles, California. (Getty Images)
Santos-Santos illegally entered the U.S. via Texas in 2014, and his deportation was ordered by a Department of Justice immigration judge in 2023.
