Federal immigration officials have criticised a Suffolk County judge after a Salvadoran national, who was previously deported from the US, was released without bail following his fourth felony drunken-driving conviction.Pablo Aguilar-Alvarez, 36, was found guilty on Friday of felony driving while intoxicated and faces up to seven years in prison at his October 2 sentencing.According to the New York Post, Aguilar-Alvarez had previously been convicted of three felony DWI offences and was deported in March 2024 following his third felony conviction. Authorities said he later returned to the US illegally.
Deported after third felony DWI, returned to US
His latest arrest came on November 29, 2025, after police allegedly saw him run a stop sign and cross double-yellow lines while driving in Southampton.Prosecutors said Aguilar-Alvarez had stopped at a gas station with his girlfriend to buy more alcohol when she discreetly asked a clerk to call 911. Police later stopped the vehicle, and Aguilar-Alvarez allegedly tried to exit from the passenger side in an apparent attempt to conceal that he had been driving.Authorities said he failed field sobriety tests and recorded a blood alcohol level of .17%, more than twice the legal limit.
Judge releases him pending sentencing
Following the guilty verdict, Suffolk County prosecutors asked Judge Bryan L. Browns to hold Aguilar-Alvarez without bail, arguing that he posed a danger to the public and was a flight risk.The judge denied the request and released him pending sentencing.Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said Aguilar-Alvarez was a danger to society, while US Immigration and Customs Enforcement also criticised the decision.An ICE spokesperson told the New York Post that the agency would seek to locate, detain and remove Aguilar-Alvarez, alleging that local authorities had previously failed to honour immigration detainers lodged against him.Aguilar-Alvarez’s criminal history also includes a misdemeanor DWI conviction from 2012, according to prosecutors.
