ICE agents arrested a known MS-13 gang member in Maryland after years of repeated local arrests and releases. Despite a lengthy criminal record and multiple ICE detainers, local authorities refused to hold him. Federal officials say the case highlights serious public safety risks tied to sanctuary policies.
MS-13 Member with History of Crime Arrested in Maryland
On May 12, federal agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) apprehended Nelson Vladimir Amaya-Benitez, a known member of the violent MS-13 gang, in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The arrest marks a significant move by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which identified Amaya-Benitez as a high-priority public safety threat. The 26-year-old Salvadoran national had been deported once before but reentered the U.S. illegally and continued a years-long criminal spree.
According to U.S. authorities, MS-13 is a foreign terrorist organization, and its members have committed several violent crimes throughout the nation. Amaya-Benitez was repeatedly released back into the community after being arrested by Maryland law enforcement.
Repeated Charges and Arrests
Amaya-Benitez has been arrested by local police departments at least a dozen times since 2016, each time for a different crime. Charges of robbery with a weapon, stealing, malicious fire, crimes involving automobiles, and illegal item possession are all present on his record.
- Among some of the notable arrests are:
- Armed robbery in 2017
- Unauthorized use of a vehicle in 2022
- Theft and conspiracy charges in 2023
- Malicious burning and unlawful taking of a vehicle
- A 2023 conviction for theft of a vehicle and other offenses with a five-year sentence, the majority of which was suspended.
He went on to be charged with new offenses in 2024, among them attempting to steal a car and being continually arrested for vagrancy and being a rogue.
Sanctuary Policies Under Scrutiny
Five different times, Maryland local jurisdictions disregarded ICE detainers even though Amaya-Benitez had a documented gang affiliation and increasing criminal background. This meant that after the federal authorities sent him to be held for removal proceedings, the local authorities went ahead and released him.
Critics contend that allowing dangerous persons to stay within communities, as sanctuary-type policies do, risks public safety. Citing Amaya-Benitez’s case as an example of non-compliance cost, ICE agents have lamented the local police department’s failure to cooperate.
Federal Response to Local Resistance
Following his latest arrest by ICE, DHS emphasized that Amaya-Benitez had exploited the sanctuary policies of Maryland to evade immigration enforcement for nearly a decade. Officials characterized him as a serial criminal who entered the country illegally and carried on committing serious crimes while authorities ignored him. In addition, federal officials stressed their renewed focus on combating gang violence and ensuring public safety throughout the Trump administration. To keep deportable offenders from continuing to commit the same crimes, they emphasized coordination between federal agencies and local governments.
What’s Next?
Amaya-Benitez is already in the custody of ICE and will be put into removal proceedings. As federal officials insist on compelling local governments to collaborate more with identifying and detaining noncitizens who are safety threats to communities, the case is likely to re-open the country’s debate on sanctuary policies.
As DHS remains focused on pursuing violent criminals and gang members for deportation, other operations of this sort may increase in other sanctuary cities.
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