A member of the notorious MS-13 gang, Raul Orlando Ramos-Guido, has been arrested again in Annapolis, marking the third time he will be deported from the United States. Ramos-Guido, a Salvadoran national, was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at his Annapolis residence on July 1, as confirmed by a press release. A "self-admitted" MS-13 member, he had previously been deported in both 2014 and 2018 but managed to illegally reenter the country after each removal, as reported by Fox Baltimore.
Having a documented track record of criminal activity in Maryland for nearly two decades, Ramos-Guido had been first arrested by Hyattsville police in 2006 on the charges of disorderly conduct. Having been convicted of robbery, auto theft, and the said conduct since, and unlawfully entering the U.S., the repeat offender proved to be a persistent lawbreaker, according to Fox Baltimore. Repeated offenses have also led to his capture not once but twice more after initial deportation.
The ICE officers detained Ramos-Guido because he constituted a risk to local communities, as explained by Enforcement and Removal Operations Baltimore Field Office Director Matthew Elliston. "Ramos was convicted of robbery, auto theft and disorderly conduct in addition to unlawfully reentering the United States after having been removed," according to Newsweek. “[Ramos] posed a significant threat to our Maryland residents, and we cannot allow such threats to remain in our communities," Elliston added, emphasizing the active role of ERO Baltimore in prioritizing public safety by removing serious offenders.
The criminal activities of MS-13 members have echoed through the state of Maryland, especially after the brutal murder of 20-year-old Kayla Hamilton in 2022, who was alleged to have been killed by an MS-13 affiliate who was also an illegal immigrant. This tragic event led to a $100 million lawsuit against the Biden administration, with the victim's mother's attorney Brian Claypool stating "Had DHS employees performed a rudimentary visual inspection of assailant’s body, they would have seen MS-13 gang-related tattoos on his body, disqualifying him from entering U.S. soil," as reported by Fox Baltimore.
