Federal judge orders ICE to release Salvadoran murder convict

A federal judge in San Diego has ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to release David Antonio Aviles Perez, a Salvadoran national convicted in absentia of aggravated murder. U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta granted the habeas petition after finding that officials violated Fifth Amendment due process by detaining Aviles Perez for months without an individualized bond hearing to determine his flight risk or danger to the public.

The ruling focuses on detention procedures and does not overturn the murder conviction or clear Aviles Perez of his prior offenses. The court ordered his release and mandated that a bond hearing must occur before any attempt at redetention during his removal proceedings. At such a hearing, the government must prove by clear and convincing evidence that he poses a danger to the community.