Fairfax County crime: Illegal immigrant murders, sex crimes spark policy debate
Fairfax County, Virginia officials face scrutiny as illegal immigrant crime, including child sexual offenses and murders, dramatically rises. A DHS report reveals an alleged 75% of all murders in Fairfax County are committed by illegal aliens, fueling intense debate over the county’s controversial sanctuary city policies and their impact on public safety.
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The Department of Homeland Security called out a “depraved freak” sex offender and illegal immigrant whom the agency said it recently deported after he abused his own daughter in Democrat-run Virginia
Records from the Albemarle County Circuit Criminal Division show Mexican national Marcelo Vasquez Reyna was convicted in March after pleading guilty to a charge involving a parent violating a child between the ages of 15 and 17. The incident took place in 2018. He was sentenced to five years and six months in prison, with five years of the sentence suspended.
Local outlet ABC 7 reported that Vasquez Reyna was arrested in March following his conviction. The outlet said he was also charged with attempted rape and abduction.
In an X post, DHS wrote that “ICE has DEPORTED Marcelo Vasquez-Reyna, a depraved freak who sexually abused HIS OWN DAUGHTER.”
ICE NABS ILLEGAL ALIENS CONVICTED OF CHILD SEX CRIMES AND METH TRAFFICKING IN NATIONWIDE ENFORCEMENT SWEEP
Virginia Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger (left) is taking heat for her handling of illegal immigrant crime in her state as DHS reveals it recently deported convicted child sex offender Marcello Vasquez Reyna (right). (Allyse Pulliam/ Times-Dispatch; DHS via X)
The agency added that “criminals like this sicko have NO sanctuary in our nation.”
The Daily Progress reported that Vasquez Reyna was repeatedly arrested on charges of groping his teenage daughter and attempting to rape her using force, causing her to live in fear of further attacks.
The deportation comes as parts of Virginia have seen a series of violent and sexual crimes involving illegal immigrants. Fairfax County, north of Albemarle County, has seen several high-profile cases.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lodged a detainer in July asking Fairfax County officials not to release Nehemia Noel Fuentes-Banegas after DHS said he ambushed a Fairfax County police officer Tuesday.
ICE LODGES DETAINER FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ACCUSED OF TRYING TO DISARM VIRGINIA POLICE OFFICER
A Fairfax County police officer’s body camera captures the encounter with Nehemia Noel Fuentes-Banegas, who is accused of attempting to disarm the officer in Annandale, Virginia. (Fairfax County Police Department)
DHS said officers responded to a report of a man who left a home in Annandale following an argument while armed with two knives. As officers searched a wooded area, DHS said Fuentes-Banegas emerged from the brush, grabbed an officer’s gun and attempted to disarm him. Fairfax County police said one officer fired his service weapon while a second officer simultaneously deployed a department-issued Taser. Police said the bullet grazed Fuentes-Banegas’ shoulder.
Another high-profile case involved Israel Flores Ortiz, an illegal immigrant who was 18 at the time and was accused of groping several underage girls at a Fairfax County high school.
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The Fairfax High School campus in Fairfax, Virginia, on March 15, 2022, left, and a March 2025 mugshot of Israel Flores Ortiz, who is accused of groping girls at the school, right. (John M. Chase/Getty Images; Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office)
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Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger has faced criticism for her handling of illegal immigrant crime. On her first day in office, Spanberger rescinded an executive order by her predecessor, Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, directing state law enforcement agencies to assist federal immigration enforcement authorities. She also ordered state and local law enforcement agencies to terminate all 287(g) agreements with ICE and signed an order prohibiting ICE from using state property as a staging area, processing location or operations base for federal civil immigration enforcement activities.
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Fox News Digital reached out to Spanberger’s office, the Albemarle County Police Department and the Albemarle County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office for comment.
