Judge orders release of Salvadoran migrant wrongly accused of being an MS-13 gang member after 10 months in custody

There are two diametrically opposed portrayals of David Eduardo Mejía Martínez: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) presents him as a “criminal” and a member of the notorious Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang who, because he poses a danger to the community, should be deported to El Salvador. A federal judge, by contrast, describes him as an exemplary migrant: with no tattoos and no criminal record, in steady employment, and who has filed taxes since arriving in the United States in 2014. The judge also said he is the father of two children who are U.S. citizens and the main provider for his family.

On the basis of those arguments, federal Judge Serena R. Murillo ordered ICE on September 8 to release Mejía Martínez from the Adelanto, California, immigration detention center where he had been held since November. The agency complied the next day, though not without publicly expressing its disagreement. In a statement, it released the migrant’s photograph, outlined his alleged criminal history and sharply criticized the judge.

“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,” said Markwayne Mullin, secretary of Homeland Security.

The clash is part of a broader dispute between the Donald Trump administration and judges who have blocked deportations or questioned immigration authorities’ decisions. Since the Republican’s return to the White House in January 2025, more than 100 immigration judges have lost their jobs, taken early retirement, or resigned, according to the National Immigration Judges Union.

Among the most notable cases are those of Massachusetts judges Roopal Patel and Nina Froes, who had blocked the government’s attempts to deport pro-Palestinian students Rumeysa Ozturk and Mohsen Mahdawi. Both were dismissed last April.

ICE, meanwhile, has gained a reputation for accusing several people of belonging to MS-13 or the Venezuelan criminal group Tren de Aragua without presenting evidence to support those claims. Some were deported and ended up imprisoned in the CECOT, the Salvadoran prison accused by NGOs of repeated human rights violations.

No tattoos and no crimes

In Mejía Martínez’s case — a Salvadoran who has lived in Los Angeles for several years — Judge Serena R. Murillo concluded that ICE had falsely accused him of belonging to a gang the Trump administration has labeled a terrorist organization. She also found that an immigration judge had “abused his discretion” by concluding the migrant “was dangerous” and posed a flight risk.

On November 5, 2025, Mejía Martínez was driving through Sherman Oaks in northwest Los Angeles on his way to work when ICE agents traveling in an unmarked vehicle detained him. They did not have an arrest warrant nor, according to Murillo’s ruling, a legal justification for the detention. The Salvadoran was taken first to the agency’s downtown Los Angeles offices and later to the Adelanto detention center.

The 10-page decision notes that the migrant does not have tattoos linking him in any way to MS-13 and emphasizes that he has not committed crimes in the United States or in El Salvador. “He has always led a law-abiding life,” Murillo stressed. She added: “Officials alleged that the petitioner is a member of the street gang MS-13, despite there being no evidence to support that claim.”

The judge took into account Mejía Martínez’s good moral character. She highlighted that he has maintained steady employment “and has paid state and federal taxes.” In addition, “he is legally married and has two children — seven and four years old — who are United States citizens”; and he is the main financial provider for his family.

ICE’s version is entirely different. In its statement the agency claims he is a “registered” MS-13 gang member. It also asserts that his “criminal history” includes a prior arrest for “disorderly conduct: prostitution.”

A legal setback for ICE

Mejía Martínez’s deportation was put on hold after he filed, on April 30, a habeas corpus petition, through which he challenged the legality of his detention and demanded that the government justify in court the reasons he remained deprived of his liberty.

On May 7, immigration judge Curtis White denied his petition. The judge concluded that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had met its obligation to demonstrate, “by clear and convincing evidence,” that releasing the migrant would pose a danger to the community and such a significant flight risk that “no amount of bond or alternative to detention would be adequate.”

At the end of that month, Mejía Martínez appealed White’s decision. Among his arguments, he said authorities had violated his right to due process and that his detention had been prolonged “excessively.”

The situation grew worse on August 7, when White denied all forms of immigration relief requested by Mejía Martínez and ordered his deportation to El Salvador.

The case took a turn when it reached Judge Murillo, who rejected the DHS’s arguments and White’s conclusions, and ordered the immediate release of the Salvadoran. The next day, reluctantly, ICE released him from Adelanto. More than 10 months had passed since his detention in Sherman Oaks.

Mullin, the DHS secretary, was quick to react. “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,” he said.

Given the risk of being detained again by ICE, Judge Murillo ordered that Mejía Martínez may not be arrested again by the agency without first holding a hearing to determine whether there is a legal justification to do so.

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