DHS calls out Governor Spanberger over Fairfax County migrant crimes

After another illegal immigrant was charged with violent crimes in Virginia’s Fairfax County, the Department of Homeland Security is once again calling on Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger to not allow the accused person to be released.

In a statement Tuesday, DHS blasted Spanberger for being too lenient on illegal immigrant crime, saying: “Under Governor Abigail Spanberger’s administration, Virginia has become a hotbed of illegal alien crime.”

The latest involves Juan Arevalo Mendez, a 46-year-old illegal immigrant twice deported from El Salvador who is accused of rape and kidnapping in Fairfax County. According to DHS, Arevalo Mendez was arrested last week in Prince William County on charges of rape and kidnapping with intent to commit sexual assault stemming from an alleged attack in Fairfax County last September.

Arevalo Mendez first entered the country legally in 1991, but his status was revoked after his first conviction for destruction of property in 1998, the agency said. He said Mendez was deported in 2003, illegally re-entered the United States, was deported again in 2014, and illegally re-entered at an unknown date and location. In addition to illegal entry, Arevalo Mendez has a lengthy criminal history that includes multiple convictions for aggravated assault and assault with a weapon, as well as assault crimes including drug possession, obstruction of justice, identity theft and burglary.

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On the day of his arrest, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement filed a detention request for Fairfax County authorities to detain Arevalo Mendez.

“DHS is calling on Governor Abigail Spanberger and sanctuary politicians in Fairfax County to commit to not releasing this dangerous criminal from prison and instead turning him over to ICE custody so we can remove him from our nation and end our nation’s crime spree,” said Acting Deputy Secretary Lauren Bis.

Bis added: “Virginia sanctuary politicians need to stop playing Russian roulette with Americans’ lives and work with ICE law enforcement to keep criminals out of our communities.”

Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Allyson Conroy told Fox News Digital that Arevalo Mendez “remains in Sheriff’s Office custody at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center (ADC).”

Conroy stated that “although it is too early to know the outcome of his case, ICE has been notified of Mendez’s location at ADC and may execute their detainee by responding to ADC and detaining Mendez when his release is ordered.”

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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 hinder ICE from taking action on civilian detainees.”

In its statement, DHS criticized Spanberger for signing an executive order ending the 287(g) program, in which state and local law enforcement agencies partner with federal immigration authorities, which it said contributed to crimes.

Fairfax County has been hit particularly hard by illegal immigrant crimes in recent months, according to the agency. Fairfax County, a suburb of Washington, D.C., is Virginia’s largest county by population and has Democratic prosecutor Steve Descano and Democratic sheriff Stacey Kincaid. Both have been criticized by local advocacy groups, Virginians for Safe Communities and the Victims Rights Reform Council, for their sanctuary-style approaches to enforcement.

DHS detailed 17 cases of serious crimes allegedly committed by illegal immigrants in Virginia in 2026 alone. Nine of those 17 cases occurred in Fairfax County.

In addition to Arevalo Mendez, DHS said in June that ICE also filed a detention request with Fairfax County for Moises Domingo Rico Rosales, a Nicaraguan illegal immigrant who was arrested for kidnapping a person with intent to defile and indecent exposure, and Cristian Wilfredo Alvarenga Aguilar, an illegal alien charged with kidnapping, assault, carjacking and robbery.

In May, DHS said ICE arrested Walvin Victor Hugo Garcia after he was released by Fairfax County even though he was facing charges of raping a child under 13.

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Nine of the illegal immigrants charged with serious crimes in Fairfax County in 2026, from top left to right: Juan Arevalo Mendez, Moises Domingo Rico Rosales, Cristian Wilfredo Alvarenga Aguilar, Walvin Victor Hugo Garcia, Roni Mendez-Escobar, Israel Christopher Flores-Ortiz, Misael Lopez Gomez, Maldin Anibal Guzman-Videz, Luis Alonzo Sora-Portillo. (DHS)

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A month earlier, ICE arrested undocumented immigrant Roni Mendez-Escobar from Guatemala after she was released on charges of possessing child pornography with the intent to distribute. That same month, ICE detained Israeli Christopher Flores-Ortiz, an illegal alien from Salvador who was convicted of nine counts of assault and battery for groping underage girls at a Fairfax County high school; Misael Lopez Gomez, an illegal alien from Guatemala who was charged with murder and aggravated child abuse after allegedly beating her 3-month-old daughter to death; and two illegal alien killers, Maldin Anibal Guzman-Videz and Luis Alonzo Sort-Portillo, were convicted of stabbing a man to death and sentenced to five years in prison each.

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In March, ICE also issued a detention order for Anibal Armando Chavarria Muy, an illegal alien from Guatemala charged with second-degree murder who allegedly fatally stabbed a man in his Bailey’s Crossroads home.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Spanberger’s office and Descano’s office for comment.