FAIRFAX, Va. — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers arrested a Guatemalan national with an extensive criminal record on May 12 after the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center declined to honor 16 immigration detainers previously filed against him.
Mykol Santos-Santos, 25, a documented member of a violent gang, was taken into custody in Fairfax by ICE’s Washington, D.C. field office. The arrest resulted in injury to one ICE officer after Santos-Santos resisted apprehension.
ICE officials say Santos-Santos has a criminal history that includes charges and convictions for assault and battery, burglary, credit card fraud, drug-related offenses, trespassing, and obstruction of justice. Local law enforcement arrested him at least 30 times between February 2020 and May 2025.
“This individual is a habitual offender,” said Russell Hott, ICE Washington, D.C. Field Office Director. “We could have worked together with local law enforcement to arrange a safe transfer of custody. Instead, they decided to place politics ahead of public safety.”
Detainers ignored despite repeated arrests
Santos-Santos first entered the U.S. illegally on July 11, 2014, when U.S. Border Patrol apprehended him near Hidalgo, Texas. He was issued a notice to appear before an immigration judge and was later granted an $8,000 bond by a judge in 2019. In June 2023, he was ordered removed from the United States.
Between June 2022 and May 2025, ICE filed 16 separate detainers with Fairfax County’s detention facility, which declined each request and released him back into the community.
ICE said it was forced to conduct an at-large arrest operation after the local jail’s refusal to cooperate, which increased risk to officers and the public.
Federal authorities say Santos-Santos will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.
