ICE pressures Spanberger as Fairfax murder suspects trigger new detainers in ‘sanctuary’ clash
Virginia Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger and local authorities in deep blue Northern Virginia are facing mounting hold requests from ICE after two more illegal immigrants were arrested for murder in Fairfax County this week.
This week, ICE lodged two detainers — requests to hold — for illegal immigrants charged with murder in Fairfax County. One detainer was lodged against 28-year-old Guatemalan national Misael Lopez Gomez, who is charged with second-degree murder and felony child abuse after allegedly beating his 3-month-old daughter to death. The agency lodged another detainer for a Guatemalan national, Anibal Armando Chavarria Muy, following his arrest by local authorities for second-degree murder in a machete stabbing.
The Department of Homeland Security has personally appealed to Spanberger and "Fairfax County sanctuary politicians" to not release Chavarria Muy.
These cases are the latest in a string of high-profile crimes involving illegal immigrants in Northern Virginia that have rocked the community.
This comes after one of Spanberger’s first actions as governor was to issue an executive order barring state and local authorities from cooperating with federal authorities for immigration enforcement.
Here are some of the latest high-profile cases that have outraged Northern Virginia residents:
Two ICE sources told Fox News that Misael Lopez Gomez, who was recently arrested for allegedly beating his 3-month-old daughter to death in Fairfax County, is a Guatemalan illegal alien. The sources said Lopez Gomez is believed to have entered the U.S. as a got-away during the Biden administration in July 2023.
Fox News has learned ICE placed a detainer request on Lopez Gomez with Fairfax County law enforcement. According to local outlet WUSA9, the infant died from blunt-force trauma. The outlet reported Tuesday that Lopez Gomez is currently jailed without bond and is facing second-degree murder and felony child abuse charges.
On Tuesday, ICE lodged a detainer request for Fairfax County to not release Chavarria Muy following his arrest in connection with a fatal stabbing on Sunday. DHS said that the killing was carried out using a machete.
WUSA9 reported that officers responding to a call in Bailey’s Crossroads, Virginia, found a man inside a home with multiple stab wounds. The victim was later pronounced dead at a local hospital, according to the outlet.
Chavarria Muy was later arrested for the stabbing and charged with second-degree murder. According to DHS, he is in the U.S. illegally and entered at an unknown place and time.
Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis called the case "another preventable tragedy" caused by open borders policies.
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Fairfax County has also been rocked by a case involving 18-year-old Salvadoran illegal alien Israel Flores Ortiz, who is accused of sexually assaulting a dozen girls at a local high school he was attending.
ICE has also lodged a detainer for Flores Ortiz following his arrest for allegedly groping a dozen female high school students at a Fairfax County high school he attended. Like Chavarria Muy, DHS has asked Spanberger to intervene to prevent local authorities from releasing Flores Ortiz back into the public.
Flores Ortiz is facing 13 counts of assault and battery. He is currently being held at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center without bond.
According to DHS, Flores Ortiz is an illegal immigrant from El Salvador who was released into the U.S. under the Biden administration in 2024. His case has elicited disgust, outrage and fear from Fairfax County parents about the safety of schools in the area.
In late February, ICE lodged a detainer for another illegal alien, Sierra Leone national Abdul Jalloh, charged with murder in connection with the fatal neck stabbing of a woman at a bus stop.
The victim, Stephanie Minter, 41, of Fredericksburg, Virginia, was found dead at a local bus stop on Feb. 23 with multiple stab wounds to the upper body.
DHS said that Jalloh entered the U.S. illegally in 2012. He has an extensive criminal history that includes more than 30 arrests for charges of rape, malicious wounding, assault, drug possession, identity theft, trespassing, larceny, firing a weapon, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and pick-pocketing.
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Commenting on the most recent detainer being lodged for Chavarria Muy, DHS lamented "yet another life lost in a sanctuary county at the hands of a criminal alien who should have never been here in the first place."
The agency decried Fairfax County’s policies, saying it "has a history of refusing to honor immigration detainers." DHS asked, "When will sanctuary politicians wake up and begin putting American lives FIRST?"
The White House’s rapid response social media account also chimed in, commenting, "Meanwhile, Democrats continue to block funding for [DHS], demanding changes to make ICE less effective in finding and arresting these criminals. Insane."
Fox News Digital reached out to Spanberger's office and Fairfax County officials for comment.