How bewildering is the immigration enforcement system in the United States? Consider the case of Alexander Alfredo Palacios Guevara, an El Salvadoran man alleged to be linked to the Surenos gang in Los Angeles, who has been convicted of murder and a series of violent crimes. Surprisingly, the Trump administration is currently shielding him from deportation thanks to a December 2024 ruling from the Biden Department of Justice that prohibits his return to El Salvador due to concerns about potential torture, compounded by a nationwide injunction issued in 2025 by a federal judge that halted deportations to third-party countries.
In a striking report, Fox News reporter Bill Melugin accompanied Homeland Security agents during their attempt to detain Guevara based on a deportation order. To the astonishment of the unaware agents and Melugin, he calmly proclaimed as he was escorted into an ICE detention facility, “I have CAT, I have CAT,” referencing his recently acquired status under the Convention Against Torture (CAT), which offers him protection from deportation.
“I just received CAT on December 18 of last year from the BIA. You can contact my lawyer,” he explained.
When Melugin inquired about his murder convictions, Guevara simply replied, “I am free.”
ICE acknowledged Guevara’s protected status and released him the same day, only to apprehend him again the following day. He currently remains in custody as a potential threat to public safety while the Trump administration seeks to deport him.
DHS issued a statement to Fox that read:
“This criminal alien should never have been roaming the streets of Los Angeles. Not only is he a member of the ruthless Surenos gang, but he also has multiple convictions for murder, assault, and sexual abuse of a minor. A highly unusual Biden-era legal decision from December allowed this dangerous criminal to live in American communities. Thanks to the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Noem, we are removing public safety threats as it always should have been.”
Melugin confirmed that Guevara was granted CAT status by the BIA, the Bureau of Immigration Appeals, on December 18, 2024.
As a component of the Justice Department, the BIA’s decisions can be overturned by Attorney General Pam Bondi or a federal judge, according to the BIA page at the DOJ:
The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) is the highest administrative body for interpreting and applying immigration laws. The BIA is located at EOIR headquarters in Falls Church, Virginia. Generally, the BIA does not conduct courtroom proceedings – it decides appeals by conducting a “paper review” of cases. On rare occasions, however, the BIA hears oral arguments of appealed cases, predominantly at headquarters.
The BIA has been given nationwide jurisdiction to hear appeals from certain decisions rendered by Immigration Judges and by district directors of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in a wide variety of proceedings in which the Government of the United States is one party and the other party is an alien, a citizen, or a business firm.
BIA decisions are binding on all DHS officers and Immigration Judges unless modified or overruled by the Attorney General or a federal court. Most BIA decisions are subject to judicial review in the federal courts. The majority of appeals reaching the BIA involve orders of removal and applications for relief from removal. Other cases before the BIA include the exclusion of aliens applying for admission to the United States, petitions to classify the status of alien relatives for the issuance of preference immigrant visas, fines imposed upon carriers for the violation of immigration laws, and motions for reopening and reconsideration of decisions previously rendered.
The BIA is directed to exercise its independent judgment in hearing appeals for the Attorney General. BIA decisions designated for publication are printed in bound volumes entitled Administrative Decisions Under Immigration and Nationality Laws of the United States.
Melugin also shared a video report:
EXCLUSIVE: We were with ICE & HSI Los Angeles as they arrested a Salvadoran alien w/ an active deportation order who has convictions for murder & attempted murder in LA County, but ICE may not be able to deport him due to a protection he got in the final days of the Biden admin.… pic.twitter.com/dpVJaINUBP
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) June 19, 2025
