James Percival, General Counsel for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, appeared on Fox News after a federal judge released a member of the MS-13 gang who Salvadoran authorities say was convicted (in absentia) of aggravated murder in El Salvador from an ICE detention facility in Southern California.
[NOTE: U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, ordered the release of David Antonio Aviles Perez, ruling that immigration officials violated Aviles Perez’s due process rights by holding him for five months without an individualized custody determination.]
Percival said, “The judge just got it wrong,” and added, “For activist district judges, ‘release, release, release’ is becoming muscle memory. Working class Americans who cannot afford to live in gated communities are the ones who suffer.”
Nearly FIVE HUNDRED federal judges, inc. dozens appointed by President Trump, have ruled that ICE’s bond practices are illegal, and ordered release/bond hearings.@DHSGenCounsel laughably claims they’re all “activist judges.” Rather, he should tell ICE to stop breaking the law! https://t.co/qI8ijVyGcD
— Aaron Reichlin-Melnick (@ReichlinMelnick) September 8, 2026
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, Senior Fellow at the American Immigration Council, responded to Percival on social media: “Nearly FIVE HUNDRED federal judges, inc. dozens appointed by President Trump, have ruled that ICE’s bond practices are illegal, and ordered release/bond hearings.”
Reichlin-Melnick added, “@DHSGenCounsel laughably claims they’re all ‘activist judges.’ Rather, he should tell ICE to stop breaking the law!”