An MS-13 gang member, David Antonio Aviles Perez, has been released from federal custody in California. U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta ordered Aviles Perez’s release after determining immigration officials had held him for five months without a bond hearing or assessing his risk to the public or potential flight risk.
This decision drew criticism from the Trump administration. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin condemned the judge’s order, claiming it endangered the public.
“This radical activist judge has put American lives at risk by releasing a wanted murderer,” Mullin remarked.
Aviles Perez is wanted for a 2014 execution-style murder in El Salvador. Prosecutors identify him as an MS-13 member known as “La Bruja” or “The Witch.” In 2025, he was convicted outside El Salvador and received a 20-year sentence for aggravated murder.
He entered the U.S. at an unclear date and location. In 2023, he was arrested in Monterey, California, for allegedly swinging a machete at a homeless man. Despite his conviction, he was later released, which DHS attributed to California’s sanctuary policies limiting local-federal cooperation.
Aviles Perez was re-arrested by ICE in San Diego in March, pending his deportation. However, Judge Ohta found his Fifth Amendment rights were violated as immigration officials did not conduct an individualized assessment of his danger to the public or possible flight risk.
Ohta ordered Aviles Perez’s release, stating no process was provided for his detention justification. The judge barred ICE from re-arresting him without a bond hearing and determined necessity for renewed detention.
The ruling emphasized the need for procedural due process, not the clearance of wrongdoing or risk assessment.
California Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Ohta to the San Diego County Superior Court in December 2020. President Joe Biden later nominated her to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California in September 2021, with Senate confirmation following in December.
Mullin assured that the administration’s efforts on immigration control would continue.
“DHS and ICE will not be deterred by these partisan games,” he said. “If California’s leaders won’t protect Americans, DHS will.”