Carlos Antonio Flores-Miguel — an MS-13 gang member with convictions including rape who violently resisted arrest in January — was ordered released from ICE custody by a federal judge. DHS says he was first released into the country under Biden administration policies in 2022.
The Department of Homeland Security announced that a federal judge has ordered the release of Carlos Antonio Flores-Miguel, a Salvadoran national and MS-13 gang member, from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in Minnesota.
ICE arrested Flores-Miguel on January 20, 2026 in a targeted enforcement operation. During the arrest, he violently resisted — punching and kicking ICE officers and grabbing the gun holster of an agent. He was taken into custody and held by ICE. A federal judge ordered his release from that custody earlier this month.
“This activist, Obama-appointed judge released Carlos Antonio Flores-Miguel, a criminal illegal alien from El Salvador and MS-13 gang member, from ICE custody,” said Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis. “This gang member was previously released by the Biden Administration in 2022. Releasing violent criminals is inexcusably reckless and now this criminal will be able to perpetrate more crimes against innocent Americans.”
A Repeated Pattern of Entry, Removal, and Release
Flores-Miguel has entered and been removed from the United States multiple times. He first entered in September 2016 and was removed the same year in October. He re-entered illegally and was removed again in March 2017. In October 2021 he illegally entered a third time and was released in June 2022 under Biden administration policies.
His criminal history in the United States includes rape, resisting an officer, and illegal re-entry. He was arrested in El Salvador for robbery. An immigration judge subsequently issued a final order of removal, finding that he could be removed to a third country other than El Salvador.
DHS Statement on Third-Country Removals
DHS used the case to highlight the importance of third-country removal agreements — arrangements with countries other than an individual’s home nation that allow the United States to deport individuals even when the home country will not accept them or when safety concerns prevent direct removal.
“President Trump is enforcing the law and arresting illegal aliens who have no right to be in our country,” said Acting Assistant Secretary Bis. “We are applying the law as written. If an immigration judge finds an illegal alien has no right to be in this country, we are going to remove them. Period.”
MS-13 — the Mara Salvatrucha gang — is a transnational criminal organization that originated in Los Angeles in the 1980s among Salvadoran immigrants and has since expanded across the United States, Central America, and beyond. The Trump administration designated MS-13 as a foreign terrorist organization in 2025, a designation that carries enhanced federal prosecution tools and immigration enforcement authority.
For more information on ICE enforcement operations, visit ice.gov or contact the ICE Tip Line at 1-866-347-2423.
