ICE arrests suspected MS-13 gang member who was living ‘just steps’ away from middle school

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested a suspected MS-13 gang member in New York who officials said was living “just steps” away from a middle school. 

Jamie Manual Perez Perez, 42, was taken into custody on Sept. 3 in Brentwood by ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the agency announced Tuesday. 

“This alleged MS-13 associate resided mere feet from school property and went about his life virtually unchecked and consequence-free – until his past finally caught up with him,” HSI New York Special Agent in Charge Ricky Patel said in a statement. 

Perez Perez, a Salvadorean national, was “wanted by Interpol and had a Red Notice for aggravated extortion and threat to injure a person – charges stemming from crimes he allegedly committed in his home country,” according to ICE. 

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Officials said Perez Perez initially was taken into custody by the Border Patrol in El Paso, Texas, in April 2019, after illegally entering the U.S. 

“Border Patrol officials issued him a notice to appear, and he was subsequently placed in removal proceedings, with an individual hearing scheduled for February 2026,” ICE said. 

Perez Perez was arrested in New York following a vehicle stop. He will now remain in ICE custody pending his deportation from American soil. 

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“This MS-13 gang member and international fugitive mistakenly thought he could hide out in the United States to evade justice in his home country,” said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) New York City acting Field Office Director Judith Almodovar. “Let this arrest serve notice that we remain committed to protecting our communities by removing criminal illegal aliens from our country.” 

Patel also said, “Children deserve to safely go to school each day without the fear of what evil might be lurking next door.”

“I thank HSI New York’s Long Island investigators who, alongside our ICE partners, are targeting the proliferation and complacency of vicious transnational criminal street gangs in our communities every day,” he added.