U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton rejected Wednesday defendant Becoming a regional leader of the violent MS-13 gang cleared the way for speeding up the deportation process.
Earlier this month, the Ministry of Justice asked the court to Give up the chargesaid the government plans to expel Villatoro Santos. The U.S. Marshal from the Fugitive Task Force showed in court that Villatoro Santos could be transferred to immigration custody after the hearing.
"They will likely take him away soon," Muhammad Elsays said after the hearing.
Villatoro Santos' arrest was announced in a national television press conference last month that attorney Pam Bondi claimed he was the "East Coast Leader" of the MS-13 multinational. He was charged with unspecified violent crimes and helped lead the gang's criminal attacks nationwide. However, since the Justice Department has dismissed the allegations against Villatoro Santos, it has not publicly linked him to any violence. His lawyer repeatedly questioned the nature of the lawsuit.
"This is an unusual case," Elsad said in court, and stressed that the court "determines whether the motion was brought in good faith. "He argued that the Justice Department's withdrawal of the charges did not provide "no explanation" and questioned the lack of clarity in the relevant legal process.
"There may be other lawsuits," he said after the hearing.
Villatoro Santos faces federal felony possession of a firearm in Virginia. Documents collected in his criminal case only mention MS-13 in a fleeting way. "FBI agents and TFO have also observed the MS-13 association logo in the garage bedroom of the Villatoro-Santo home," an affidavit from an immigration official said.
Villatoros Santo's lawyer accused the Justice Department of abuse of Rule 48(a) (a procedural tool used to dismiss the indictment) as an attempt to bypass the legitimate process. "They want to expel him without due process," Elsad said.
Elsay accused "prosecutors of harassment" and fired with other politically sensitive cases, including New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
Elsad said: “The Justice Department has not deleted the case without knowing what will happen next.
Government lawyers countered that the defense had delayed the case until its initial request and said: “The defendant cannot continue to step on the criminal case.”