ICE Arrests Notorious MS-13 Gang Member After Multiple Releases by Maryland Authorities

Federal immigration officials have arrested an MS-13 gang member with a long criminal history following repeated releases by local law enforcement agencies in Maryland. The arrest highlights a continued conflict between federal immigration enforcement and local sanctuary policies that limit cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Nelson Vladimir Amaya-Benitez, a 26-year-old Salvadoran national and validated MS-13 member, was apprehended by ICE on May 12 in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Despite being previously deported, Amaya-Benitez illegally re-entered the country and has faced a string of criminal charges since his initial entry in 2016. ICE officials cited his record as an example of repeated failures by local jurisdictions to cooperate with federal detainers.

Amaya-Benitez has faced over a dozen criminal charges across multiple Maryland counties and Washington, D.C., since 2017. These charges include armed robbery, theft, motor vehicle offenses, and second-degree malicious burning. In August 2023, he was sentenced to five years for motor vehicle theft and related crimes, although all but 18 months of his sentence were suspended. Authorities in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties declined to honor ICE detainer requests on at least five separate occasions.

The Department of Homeland Security has emphasized the public safety threat posed by Amaya-Benitez, describing him as a serial offender who continued to victimize communities after multiple arrests. Despite repeated opportunities to detain him for immigration enforcement, local law enforcement agencies released him, citing sanctuary policies. ICE was ultimately able to locate and arrest him independently, nearly a year after his most recent arrest.

Article by multiple RFHC contributors, based upon information from a Department of Homeland Security press release

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