DHS Issues Statement After Activist Court in California Orders Illegal Alien MS-13 Member Released from ICE Custody

Release Date: September 21, 2026

A Department of Justice Immigration Judge already labeled this illegal alien as a flight risk and a danger to the community

WASHINGTON - The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the following statement after an activist court in California ordered an illegal alien and MS-13 gang member to be released from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody.

On November 4, 2025, ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested David Eduardo Mejia-Martinez, a criminal illegal alien from El Salvador and a documented member of the terrorist organization MS-13, during a targeted enforcement operation in Sherman Oaks, California. His criminal history includes a prior arrest for disorderly conduct: prostitution.

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David Eduardo Mejia-Martinez

On March 9, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California issued a temporary restraining order and a no-transfer order after Mejia-Martinez filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. On April 30, a Department of Justice (DOJ) Immigration Judge denied Mejia-Martinez's request for release on bond, labeling him as a flight risk and a danger to the community. On August 7, the Immigration Judge denied all of Mejia-Martinez's applications for relief and ordered him deported to El Salvador.

On September 8, the District Court granted Mejia-Martinez's petition and ordered his release, with ERO releasing him the next day.

"This criminal illegal alien is a documented member of the terrorist organization MS-13and was ordered deported back to El Salvador by an Immigration Judge," said DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin. "But 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. 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 that needs to be fixed immediately before any more innocent lives are lost."

Mejia-Martinez illegally entered the United States at an unknown date and location.

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Topics

• Homeland Security Enterprise
• Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Keywords

• Gang
• Immigration Enforcement
• MS-13

Last Updated: 09/21/2026