NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has started the deportation process for an alleged MS-13 gang member from El Salvador who had been released into the United States a decade ago and was considered a “non-criminal” alien despite being wanted for a pastor’s murder in his home country.
Danny Granados-Garcia was arrested by the FBI last month, and Fox News Digital has learned that he is now in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody facing imminent removal.
“Thanks to ICE this MS-13 gang member wanted for murdering a pastor in his home country is off Connecticut streets,” Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis told Fox News Digital. “This is an example of an arrest the media counts as a ‘non-criminal’ because he lacks a rap sheet in the United States.”
FEDERAL OFFICIALS HIGHLIGHT ARRESTS OF MIGRANTS CONVICTED OF ARSON, OTHER CRIMES AS ENFORCEMENT CONTINUES
Danny Antonio Granados-Garcia (FBI)
“This is an insane categorization and just one example of the countless ‘non-criminals’ who are public safety threats that ICE is removing from our communities every single day,” Bis added. “70% of ICE arrests are of illegal aliens convicted or charged with a crime in the U.S.”
DHS says Granados-Garcia was released by the Obama administration in 2016 near the Rio Grande Valley, Texas Border Patrol Sector. The El Salvadorian national attempted to enter the U.S. claiming he was an unaccompanied minor, despite being over the age of qualification for such status.
Danny Antonio Granados-Garcia was arrested by the FBI (FBI)
ICE officers apprehended Granados-Garcia as part of a focused enforcement operation with multiple agencies conducted in Waterbury, Connecticut, on March 10.
“Danny Antonio Granados-Garcia, a Salvadoran national, was in the U.S. with an active El Salvadorian arrest warrant for aggravated homicide — wanted for the alleged murder of a pastor,” FBI Director Kash Patel wrote on X following the arrest.
DHS told Fox News Digital that the El Salvadorian will remain in ICE custody until he is deported.
AGENCY THAT NABBED EL CHAPO, DIDDY THREATENED AS DEMOCRATS’ DHS SHUTDOWN DRAGS ON
Despite setbacks from the partial government shutdown and shakeups at DHS which led to the appointment of Secretary Markwayne Mullin, the department has continued its commitment to President Donald Trump’s campaign promise to deport criminal illegal migrants.
President Donald Trump shook hands with newly sworn-in Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin during a ceremony in the Oval Office at the White House on March 24, in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Earlier this week, Bis told Fox News Digital that DHS “will continue arresting public safety threats from our communities and will not allow the Democrats to slow us down from making America safe again.”
The partial government shutdown continues, but a bipartisan deal appears close as both the House and Senate look to end what has been a near-50 day battle and the longest partial shutdown in U.S. history.
DHS ARRESTS 5 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS CONVICTED OF VIOLENT CRIMES INCLUDING MANSLAUGHTER, CHILD ASSAULT
The lack of funding for the department has impacted agencies that operate under DHS, including FEMA, TSA, and the Coast Guard.
This week, FEMA told Fox News Digital that disaster relief funds are “running dangerously low,” and until Trump’s executive order to pay TSA agents, airport security lines faced hours-long wait times with unpaid officers calling out from work.
A Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agent looks on passengers queue to go through security at New York’s LaGuardia airport on March 22, 2026. (Charly Triballeau/AFP)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
ICE and immigration agent operations, for the most part, were funded under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which was signed into law by Trump last July.
Debate over funding DHS is mainly centered around ICE operations, with congressional Democrats hesitant to agree to a spending bill without reforms for the agency, like federal agents having to show ID, obtain warrants and remove face coverings.
