Fairfax County Crime: Illegal immigrant killings, sex crimes spark policy debate
Fairfax County, Virginia officials are facing scrutiny as illegal immigration crimes, including child sex crimes and murder, are rising dramatically. A DHS report alleges 75% of all homicides in Fairfax County are committed by illegal immigrants, fueling a heated debate over the city’s controversial sanctuary policies and their impact on public safety.
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Following yet another illegal immigrant charged with violence in Fairfax County, Virginia, the Department of Homeland Security has once again urged Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger not to allow the accused to be released.
In a statement Tuesday, DHS ripped Spanberger for being too soft on illegal immigration, saying “Under Governor Abigail Spanberger, Virginia has become a hotbed of illegal immigration.”
The latest involves Juan Arevalo Mendez, a 46-year-old twice deported from El Salvador who is charged with rape and kidnapping in Fairfax County. Arevalo Mendez was arrested last week in Prince William County on charges of rape and kidnapping for sexual abuse stemming from an alleged attack in Fairfax County last September, according to DHS.
The agency said Arevalo Mendez entered the country legally in 1991, but his status was revoked after he was found guilty of first-degree vandalism in 1998. Deported in 2003, re-entered the US illegally, deported again in 2014, re-entered illegally on an unknown date and location. In addition to illegal immigration, Arevalo Mendez has a long criminal history that includes multiple convictions for assault, including aggravated assault and assault with a weapon, as well as drug possession, obstruction of justice, identity theft and burglary.
ICE MAKES NATIONWIDE ARRESTS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS, KILLERS, STUDENTS IN HOLIDAY BLITZ
Virginia Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger (left) is being criticized by the Department of Homeland Security as she houses another detainee for Juan Arevalo Mendez (right), an illegal immigrant charged with a felony. (Mike Kropf/Richmond Times-Dispatch via Getty Images; DHS)
On the same day he was arrested, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement placed a detainer on Fairfax County officials to arrest Arevalo Mendez.
Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis commented that “DHS is calling on Governor Abigail Spanberger and her political allies in Fairfax County to commit to not releasing this dangerous criminal from prison, and instead handing him over to ICE custody so we can remove him from our nation and end his crimes in our country.”
Bis added that “sanctuary politicians in Virginia need to stop playing Russian roulette with American lives and work with ICE law enforcement to keep criminals out of our communities.”
Allyson Conroy, spokeswoman for the County Sheriff’s Office, told Fox News Digital that Arevalo Mendez “remains in the custody of the Sheriff’s Office at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center (ADC).”
Conroy noted that “although it is too early in the process to know the outcome of his case, ICE has been notified of Mendez’s location at ADC, and they are able to release their prisoner by responding to ADC and taking Mendez into custody if and when he is ordered released.”
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Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano is seen speaking at an event in Fairfax County, Virginia. (Sarah Voisin/Getty Images)
He emphasized that “The Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office does not prevent or prevent ICE from working with detainees.”
In its statement, DHS criticized Spanberger for signing an executive order ending the state’s 287(g) program that cooperates with local law enforcement and transportation authorities, suggesting they contribute to crime.
According to the agency, Fairfax County has been hit hard by illegal immigration crime in recent months. A suburb of Washington, DC, Fairfax County is Virginia’s largest county by population and has a Democratic prosecutor, Steve Descano, and a Democratic sheriff, Stacey Kincaid. Both have been criticized by local advocacy groups, the Virginias for Safe Communities and Victims Rights Reform Council, for their approach to law enforcement.
DHS has detailed 17 alleged serious illegal immigration cases that occurred in Virginia in 2026 alone. Nine of those 17 crimes occurred in Fairfax County.
In addition to Arevalo Mendez, DHS said in June ICE also detained in Fairfax County illegal immigrant from Nicaragua Moises Domingo Rico Rosales, who was arrested for kidnapping with intent to defile and public exposure, and Cristian Wilfredo Alvarenga Aguilar, an illegal alien, robbery and robbery.
In May, DHS said ICE arrested Walvin Victor Hugo Garcia after he was released by Fairfax County despite being charged with raping a child under the age of 13.
SANCTUARY COUNTY REJECTED 615 REMOVAL APPLICATIONS, TURNED IN JUST 11 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS, RECORDS SHOW
Nine of the immigrants charged with serious crimes in Fairfax County in 2026, left to right from top: Juan Arevalo Mendez, Moises Domingo Rico Rosales, Cristian Wilfredo Alvarenga Aguilar, Walvin Victor Hugo Garcia, Roni Mendez-Escobar, Israel Christopher Flores-Ortipez, Malpez A Gomez Guzman-Videz, Luis Alonzo Sort-Portillo. (DHS)
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Last month, ICE arrested an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, Roni Mendez-Escobar, after he was released on a charge of possession of child pornography with intent to distribute. That same month, ICE took into custody Salvadoran illegal alien Israel Christopher Flores-Ortiz, who was convicted of nine counts of assault and battery on teenage girls at a Fairfax County high school; Guatemalan illegal alien Misael Lopez Gomez, charged with murder and child abuse after allegedly killing his three-month-old daughter; and two extrajudicial killers, Maldin Anibal Guzman-Videz and Luis Alonzo Sort-Portillo, who were convicted of stabbing a man to death and sentenced to five years in prison each.
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In March, ICE also detained Anibal Armando Chavarria Muy, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, who was charged with first degree murder after allegedly stabbing a man to death at his Bailey’s Crossroads home.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Spanberger’s office and Descano’s office for comment.
