Federal authorities have finally apprehended an illegal immigrant with known MS-13 gang affiliations despite Fairfax County’s refusal to cooperate with ICE.
Mykol Santos-Santos, 25, a Guatemalan national who is in the country illegally, was taken into custody by ICE Washington, D.C. in Fairfax, Virginia, on Monday.
Fox News reported that an ICE officer was injured during the arrest when Santos-Santos resisted.
Santos-Santos’ charges and convictions include assault and battery, burglary, credit card fraud, trespassing, drug crimes, property damage, obstruction of justice, attempting to flee police, failure to appear and violating court orders.
ICE made the arrest after the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center refused to honor ICE’s 16th immigration detainer lodged against him.
ICE said Santos-Santos’ criminal history in its database is more than 15 pages long, and he has been arrested more than 30 times by Fairfax County police.
He’s also had 16 immigration detainers lodged against him in the last three years.
“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.”
