CALIFORNIA — The order bars Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from detaining Aviles Perez again unless an immigration judge first holds a bond hearing and determines that renewed detention is warranted. Perez is a 35-year-old MS-13 gang member also known as "the witch" or "La Bruja." He entered the United States at an unknown date and location, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin criticized the release, stating, "This radical activist judge has put American lives at risk by releasing a wanted murderer." Mullin added, "This is now the SECOND time this dangerous illegal has been released back onto the streets in California." DHS Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis stated that California’s sanctuary policies allowed Perez to walk free despite charges of assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a controlled substance, and petty theft. Bis stated that Perez's release "back into California neighborhoods put American lives at risk."

Timeline

In July 2014, prosecutors stated that Perez and an accomplice chased a victim in La Unión, El Salvador, forced him to kneel, and shot him in the chest, back, and face. In December 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Jinsook Ohta to the San Diego County Superior Court. President Joe Biden nominated Ohta to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California in September 2021. The Senate confirmed Ohta's judicial nomination in December 2021.

Perez was arrested in Monterey, California, in August 2023 after allegedly swinging a machete at a homeless man at Laguna Grande Park. He was convicted in El Salvador in December 2025 and sentenced to 20 years in prison for aggravated murder related to a 2014 gang killing. ICE agents arrested Perez in San Diego on March 26, 2026, and held him at the Otay Mesa Detention Center pending removal to El Salvador. On August 26, 2026, Judge Ohta wrote, "Although Petitioner appears to have previously been convicted following a fight with another individual in May 2023, the government has offered no evidence that it detained him after considering those facts and making an individualized determination of his danger to the public or flight risk."

What's New

DHS Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis stated that Perez's release back into California neighborhoods put American lives at risk." She also stated that California’s sanctuary policies allowed Aviles Perez to walk free despite charges of assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a controlled substance, and petty theft. Additionally, Markwayne Mullin has served as the ninth United States secretary of homeland security since 2026."

Why It Matters

The ruling shows a conflict between federal immigration enforcement procedures and constitutional due process protections. Judge Ohta determined that holding Perez for five months without an individualized assessment of danger or flight risk violated his Fifth Amendment rights. The decision prevents ICE from re-detaining him without a bond hearing, establishing a procedural requirement for similar cases involving prolonged detention without such assessments.

DHS officials characterized the release as a threat to public safety, linking it to broader debates over sanctuary policies in California. Secretary Mullin and Assistant Secretary Bis argued that local policies hindered federal efforts to detain individuals with criminal histories. The case reflects ongoing tensions between judicial interpretations of due process and executive branch priorities in immigration enforcement.