USCIS Assists Federal Partners in Arrest of MS-13 Gang Member

NEW YORK - U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services played a critical role in the arrest of Jose Calles Henriquez, 24, an illegal alien from El Salvador and self-confessed MS-13 gang member. Calles Henriquez was arrested on May 8 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Transnational Crime Task Force and ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations. He was charged with entering the country illegally.

"Under the Biden administration, criminals and gang members masquerading as Special Immigrant Juveniles were allowed to stay in this country, secure work permits, and threaten the safety of the American people," said USCIS spokesman Zach Kahler. "Those days are over. Under the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Mullin, USCIS will use all available resources to detect and arrest those who pose a threat to our way of life."

USCIS' rigorous screening and vetting identified Calles Henriquez as a member of MS-13 gang and flagged him as a public safety threat. USCIS officers promptly alerted HSI. The arrest happened when Calles Henriquez showed up to an appointment at a Long Island-area USCIS office to apply for lawful permanent resident status as a Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ). Calles Henriquez is now in ICE custody and has been placed in removal proceedings. According to the allegations, Calles Henriquez entered the United States illegally in 2013 by crossing the Rio Grande on a raft near Hidalgo, Texas. At the time, he was issued a notice to appear before an immigration judge by Border Patrol.

Last year, USCIS released a report (PDF, 2.69 MB) about rampant fraud and significant national security risks of the SIJ program. Congress first established the SIJ program in 1990 and has amended it several times to allow young illegal aliens, whom a juvenile court has determined cannot reunify with one or both parents due to abuse, neglect, or abandonment, to apply for SIJ classification and lawful permanent resident status and have an eventual path to U.S. citizenship. By law, there are no criminal bars or good moral character requirements for SIJ petition approval.

HSI and USCIS' Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate from Long Island investigated the case.

For more information on USCIS and its programs, please visit uscis.gov or follow us on X, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and LinkedIn.