An “activist court” in Southern California freed an MS-13 gangster with a prior arrest for prostitution to roam the streets – after an immigration judge previously ordered him deported from the country, federal authorities said.
asserted
authorities → free → country
ICE agents arrested documented MS-13 member David Eduardo Mejia-Martinez, 32, in a targeted immigration raid in Sherman Oaks, California on Nov. 2, according to authorities.
uncertain
agents → arrest → authorities
His criminal history includes a prior arrest for prostitution, according to court records.
uncertain
history → include → records
Following his immigration arrest, the Salvadoran national was held at Adelanto ICE Processing Center, a high-security detention facility in Adelanto, Ca., until he was freed Sept. 9 by the US District Court of the Central District of California.
asserted
he → follow → California
Immigration officials still aren’t sure when or where Mejia-Martinez entered the country, but they are certain he did so illegally.
asserted
he → enter → country
US Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said he never should’ve been released from custody.
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he → say → custody
“Because an activist court in California demanded his release before he could be deported, this dangerous criminal is back on the streets and is free to continue threatening American lives,” Mullin said.
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Mullin → demand → lives
Mejia-Martinez had been trying to win his freedom from federal custody since March 9 when the Central District issued a temporary restraining order and a no-transfer order after he filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, arguing he had been unlawfully detained.
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he → try → corpus
A Department of Justice Immigration Judge denied Mejia-Martinez’s request for release on bond on April 30, labeling him as a flight risk and a danger to the community.
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Judge → deny → community
The Immigration Judge ordered him deported to El Salvador on August 7.
asserted
him → order → August
Despite the deportation order, and Mejia-Martinez’s status as a flight risk and dangerous criminal, the Central District on Sept. 8 granted his petition for habeas corpus.
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District → grant → corpus
He was released the following day and is now free as authorities track his location via GPS.
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authorities → release → GPS
It’s unclear when Mejia-Martinez is next due to check-in with immigration officials, federal authorities said.
uncertain
authorities → ’ → officials
California’s federal judges may order the immediate release of detained illegal migrants under the legal precedent habeas corpus, which allows any person in custody to challenge the legality of their detention.
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person → order → detention
A writ of habeas corpus orders the government to bring the detained individual before a judge and prove they have the legal right to hold them.
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they → order → them
If the government fails to justify the confinement, the court must release the individual.
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court → fail → individual
The case of Mejia-Martinez echoes the high-profile release of two other Salvadoran illegal migrants with criminal histories and gang affiliations by federal judges in the Southern District of California, which encompasses San Deigo and surrounding areas.
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which → echo → Deigo
After The California Post exposed Ohta’s decision, prosecutors admitted to making a huge legal error that led to the judge freeing the man known as “The Witch,” — saying they forgot to tell Ohta of his criminal history.
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they → expose → history
In a separate case, another gang-affiliated Salvadoran, Luis Valle, was also ordered released from ICE custody while awaiting removal by Linda Lopez, another judge in the same court district as Ohta.
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Salvadoran → affiliate → Ohta
Lopez freed Valle, a convicted first-degree murderer, in August, ruling there is “good reason to believe that there is no significant likelihood of his removal in the reasonably foreseeable future.”
asserted
Lopez → free → future
Mullin said such decisions are too often made by activist judges who are motivated by their personal politics, and not the safety of residents.
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who → say → residents
“When partisan actors have taken over our courts and start putting the concerns of illegal aliens over the safety of the American people, we have a serious crisis on our hands,” said Mullin.
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Mullin → take → hands
The Aporia
