An illegal alien gang member arrested at least 30 times in a Virginia sanctuary county has finally been apprehended by federal immigration authorities who slammed local officials for continuing to release him.
On Monday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced the capture of 25-year-old Mykol Santos-Santos, a Guatemalan illegal and known member of MS-13.
In 2014, Santos was caught by U.S. Border Patrol after he illegally crossed the southern border near Hidalgo, TX.
He was issued a notice to appear before a federal immigration judge and released into the interior.
Santos was then arrested by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Washington, D.C. during a targeted enforcement operation in July of 2018, but was granted an $8,000 immigration bond and apparently released in January of 2019.
In 2023, an immigration judge ordered Santos deported to Guatemala.
During a five-year span between February of 2020 and early May of 2025, Santos was arrested at least 30 times by Fairfax County Police on variety of charges, including assault and battery, drug possession, drug possession with intent to distribute, burglary, theft, larceny, trespassing, property damage, obstruction of justice, attempting to flee police, failure to appear and violating court orders.
Over the past three years, ICE Washington, D.C. lodged 16 detainer requests against Santos with the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center, all of which were ignored.
The Guatemalan was finally taken into ICE custody in Fairfax on May 12.
Santos reportedly “resisted heavily” during his apprehension, injuring an ICE officer in the process.
“Mykol Santos-Santos is a habitual offender. He is a documented member of a violent criminal gang with a lengthy criminal history and represents an egregious danger to our Virginia communities,” said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Washington, D.C. Field Office Director Russell Hott.
“While we are happy to have arrested him, we find it inexcusable that local law enforcement refused to honor 16 separate immigration detainers against Santos-Santos, forcing ICE officers to make an at large arrest where one of our officers was injured. We could have worked together with local law enforcement to arrange a safe transfer of custody. Instead, they decided to place politics ahead of public safety, and as a result one of our brave officers was injured.”
In February, the State Department designated Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) as Foreign Terrorist Organization.