Accused MS-13 ringleader one step closer to deportation after judge dismisses charges

A federal judge has cleared the way for a man described by the Department of Justice (DOJ) as MS-13's leader on the East Coast to be deported. 

U.S. District Court Judge Claude Hilton dismissed criminal charges against Henrry Josue Villatoro Santos, 24, of El Salvador on Wednesday, according to his lawyer, Muhammad Elsayed.

Villatoro Santos was arrested during a raid on his Woodbridge, Virginia, home on March 27 and was charged with being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm. He was considered one of the top three leaders of the vicious transnational MS-13 gang living in the United States, and federal authorities noted that they had found MS-13 indicia in his bedroom and garage.

Henrry Josue Villatoro Santos was arrested and accused of being an MS-13 leader. (Alexandria Sheriff's Office)

KASH PATEL, FBI TOUT $5M REWARD FOR CAPTURING MS-13 ‘TERRORIST LEADER’ UNLEASHING EVIL ON AMERICANS

On April 9, Attorney General Pam Bondi filed a motion to dismiss the gun charges against Villatoro Santos in an effort to have him immediately deported to El Salvador, rather than standing trial and potentially spending years in a U.S. prison. 

That motion was briefly delayed by a federal judge on April 18, before Wednesday's decision was handed down. 

Elsayed told Fox News Digital that he filed an emergency habeas petition and a temporary restraining order against the government to stop his client's deportation. 

24-year-old Salvadoran national Henrry Josue Villatoro Santos was charged with being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm, several of which are pictured. Federal officials accused Villatoro of being a top MS-13 gang leader.  (Department of Justice)

MARYLAND SHERIFF INFURIATED BY SENATOR'S TRIP TO VISIT MS-13 SUSPECT, SILENCE ON LOCAL MURDER VICTIMS

He said that since Wednesday's hearing, "the government has finally confirmed that it has placed Mr. Villatoro in removal proceedings and that he will be given his day in court as required by law."

"No one in America should have to wonder whether they will be afforded their basic due process rights when they are detained by the government, and no one should live in fear that they may be forcibly disappeared to a foreign autocracy in the middle of the night," he said. 

He accused the federal government of turning the case into a "publicity stunt." 

"If we do away with due process for alleged undocumented immigrants, then American citizens are equally at risk of being unlawfully deported—how do you prove that you are not in the country illegally if you are never given your day in [court]?" Elsayed asked.

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Virginia declined to comment, citing the ongoing nature of the case. 

Fox News Digital reached out to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Alleged top leader of MS-13 was arrested in Virginia on Thursday, March 27, 2025. (The Ingraham Angle)

Since President Donald Trump was inaugurated in January, his administration has made it a top priority to arrest and deport the most violent illegal aliens in the country, cracking down especially hard on MS-13 and the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Assistant Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital that the gangs are "getting desperate," and that 2,394 illegal immigrant gang members were arrested in Trump's first 100 days. 

"This is just the beginning," she said. "This is just 100 days. We want to get these arrest numbers up. We want to get MS-13, Tren de Aragua — these really bad actors — out of our country. And that's what we're going to deliver on," she said.