Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin blasted a judge appointed by former President Biden for ordering the release of an MS-13 gang member convicted of murder.

U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta ordered the release of David Antonio Aviles Perez, 35, after discovering that he was held for five months without a bond hearing. 

U.S. immigration officials reportedly did not formally determine whether he was a flight risk or a danger to the community.

"This radical activist judge has put American lives at risk by releasing a wanted murderer," Mullin said in a statement released on Saturday.

"This is now the SECOND time this dangerous illegal has been released back onto the streets in California," he added. "Because sanctuary politicians want to play politics from the bench, innocent Americans are in danger."

He was convicted in December 2025 in El Salvador for aggravated murder and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Police arrested him in Monterey, California, back in 2023, after he allegedly swung a machete at a homeless man at Laguna Grande Park.