Honduran illegal caught with MS-13 member in Sterling Heights had been kicked out of US 4 times before

Details emerge after MS-13 gang member, Honduran illegal arrested in Sterling Heights

According to US Customs and Border Protection ? the two men arrested at the Sterling Heights Super 8 ? were not in the country legally ? and were found to have more than five grams of crystal meth on them.

STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. (FOX 2) - What started out as two men arguing at a motel turned into an arrest with one of the men admitting he was an MS-13 gang member.

According to US Customs and Border Protection — the two men arrested at the Sterling Heights Super 8 — were not in the country legally — and were found to have more than five grams of crystal meth.

The backstory:

This photo shows the MS-13 tattoo of one of the men — and border agents says he admitted to serving 20 years in a Salvadorian prison for the murder of a rival gang member.

One of the men is 47-year-old Filander Ramos-Hernandez of Honduras — FOX 2 acquired audio of his arraignment.

Judge: "With unlawful re-entry into the United States after having been previously removed along with an enhancement for having a prior aggravated felony conviction,"

The prior conviction was delivering drugs in 2010.

In fact — Ramos Hernandez has been removed from the US four times already — in 2005, in 2010 after the drug charge, again in 2012 and then in 2016 after an assault.

He told agents he paid a smuggler $15,000 to walk him across the border in February 2025.

"It does make me feel better that he’s going back where he came from if he’s here illegally," said Miles Mattei, who works nearby. "It makes me feel better the police are actually doing their job and making the streets a lot safer."

Both men are being processed for removal from the US.

Ramos-Hernandez’s next court date is July 23rd.