The sanctuary county of Fairfax County, Virginia freed from jail an illegal alien accused of raping a child even as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents requested custody of him. The illegal alien had initially been released into the United States by President Joe Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) after arriving at the southern border.
In March 2022, after arriving at the United States–Mexico border, the illegal alien from Peru was given a Notice to Appear (NTA) before a federal immigration judge and released into the United States interior.
Only months later, in October 2022, the illegal alien was arrested in Fairfax County for petit larceny. DHS again issued him a NTA before a federal immigration judge. A Fairfax County court eventually deferred the illegal alien’s conviction in May of this year.
In July 2023, the illegal alien was again arrested in Fairfax County and charged with two counts of felony sodomy of a victim under the age of 13, two counts of felony sexual penetration of a victim under the age of 13, three counts of aggravated sexual battery of a victim under the age of 13, and one count of misdemeanor French kissing a child under the age of 13.
When ICE agents issued a detainer for the illegal alien, which is a request to take custody of a suspect who can be deported from the United States, Fairfax County officials followed their sanctuary policy and ignored the request.
Subsequently, the illegal alien was released on Sept. 28, 2023, from the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center. ICE agents were able to arrest the illegal alien in October, and he remains in the agency’s custody while awaiting deportation.
“This undocumented noncitizen allegedly committed unspeakable acts against a child,” ICE official Erik Weiss said in a statement:
He has no legal basis to remain in the United States, and he poses a threat to the residents of his community. ERO Washington, D.C. will continue our efforts to apprehend criminals who are released back in the local population when a detainer is not honored. We will remove such threats from our communities. [Emphasis added]
According to the Center for Immigration Studies, Fairfax County has imposed a broad sanctuary policy since May of 2018 — ensuring that criminal illegal aliens are not turned over to ICE agents for deportation.
Virginia today is home to five sanctuary jurisdictions and an illegal alien population of more than 450,000.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.