ICE Lodges Detainer Asking Governor Abigail Spanberger and Fairfax Sanctuary Politicians to Not Release Illegal Alien Arrested on Charges of Rape and Abduction in Fairfax[...]

Under Governor Abigail Spanberger, Virginia has become a hotbed of illegal alien crime

WASHINGTON - The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the following statement after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lodged a detainer asking sanctuary politicians in Fairfax County, Virginia to not release from jail an illegal alien who has been charged with rape and abduction.

According to local reporting, Juan Arevalo Mendez, a criminal illegal alien from El Salvador, was arrested on June 30 in Prince William County. He has been charged with rape - strongarm and kidnap adult with intent to sexually assault in connection with an assault in September 2025 in Falls Church. ICE lodged a detainer for Mendez the same day he was arrested.

Juan Arevalo Mendez

Mendez has a lengthy criminal history dating back to 1998, which includes prior convictions for assault, aggravated assault - weapon, strongarm aggravated assault - non-family, aggravated assault with a gun - non-family, drug possession, destruction of property, illegal re-entry, obstructing justice, and making a false report, as well as prior arrests for identity theft, drug possession, and larceny.

"This criminal illegal alien has been charged with rape and abduction. He has a laundry list of prior convictions for aggravated assault, destruction of property, and drug possession, as well as prior arrests for identity theft and larceny," said Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis. "DHS is calling on Governor Abigail Spanberger and her fellow sanctuary politicians in Fairfax County to commit to not releasing this dangerous criminal from jail, and to instead turn him over to ICE custody so that we can remove him from our nation and end his crime spree in our country. Virginia sanctuary politicians need to stop playing Russian roulette with American lives and work with ICE law enforcement to keep criminals out of our communities."

Mendez first entered the United States as a Legal Permanent Resident (LPR) in 1991, but this status was revoked upon his first conviction for destruction of property in 1998. He was deported in 2003, but then illegally re-entered the United States - a felony - before being deported a second time in 2014. He then illegally entered the United States a second time at an unknown date and location.

During her first days in office, Governor Spanberger signed executive orders banning state cooperation with ICE as well as terminating 287(g) state and local agreements.

Under Governor Spanberger, Virginia has become a hotbed of illegal alien crime. Some of the recent illegal alien crimes in the sanctuary state include:

• In June, an ICE investigation led to the sentencing of Samuel Flores de Dios, an illegal alien from Mexico, to 30 years in prison on charges of production of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
• In June, ICE lodged a detainer for Moises Domingo Rico Rosales, an illegal alien from Nicaragua, after he had been arrested for abduction of person with intent to defile and indecent exposure in Annandale, Virginia.
• In June, ICE lodged a detainer for Jose Nahun Aleman Hernandez, an illegal alien from Mexico, who was charged with molesting a 5-year-old girl in Woodbridge, Virginia.
• In June, ICE lodged a detainer for Cristian Wilfredo Alvarenga Aguilar, an illegal alien charged with carjacking, abduction, assault, and robbery in Herndon, Virginia.
• In May, Aroldo Santos-Velasques, an illegal alien from Guatemala, was sentenced in Loudoun County to 25 years in prison for sexually assaulting an 8-year-old girl. 
• In May, ICE lodged a detainer for Cristian Romero Saenz-Argueta, an illegal alien from El Salvador, who was arrested in Prince William County, Virginia and charged with raping a girl under the age of 15.
• In May, ICE lodged a detainer for Jorge Enrique Garcia-Rodriguez, an illegal alien from Mexico, who was arrested in Franklin County, Virginia and charged with forcible intercourse with a victim under the age of 13 and SIX counts of possession of child pornography. 
• In May, ICE arrested Eduardo Perez-Legra, an illegal alien from Cuba with prior felony convictions for drug trafficking and cocaine possession, in Newport News, Virginia.
• In May, ICE arrested Walvin Victor Hugo Garcia, an illegal alien from Guatemala, after he was released by sanctuary politicians in Fairfax County despite facing charges of raping a child under the age of 13. 
• In May, ICE arrested Josue Saul Garcia-Lopez, an illegal alien from El Salvador and MS-13 gang member, in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
• In April, Roni Mendez-Escobar, an illegal alien from Guatemala, was arrested by ICE after previously being released by Fairfax County, despite being charged with possession of child porn with intent to distribute. 
• In April, ICE lodged a detainer asking sanctuary politicians in Arlington County to not release Luzvin Orvando Garcia Moran, an illegal alien from Guatemala, after he was arrested for attempted rape.
• In April, Israel Christopher Flores-Ortiz, a criminal illegal alien from El Salvador, was convicted for NINE counts of assault and battery after he groped multiple underage girls at a high school in Fairfax County.
• In April, the Fairfax County District Attorney's Office offered an insane plea deal of just 5 years to two illegal aliens who murdered a man at a park and walking trail in Oakton, Virginia in July of 2024.
• In April, Misael Lopez Gomez, an illegal alien from Guatemala, was arrested and charged with murder and felony child abuse after bludgeoning his own 3-month-old daughter to death in Fairfax County.
• In March, Anibal Armando Chavarria Muy, an illegal alien from Guatemala, was arrested and charged with second degree murder after fatally stabbing a man inside his home in Bailey's Crossroads, Virginia.
• In February, Abdul Jalloh, an illegal alien from Sierra Leone with more than 30 prior arrests, was charged with murder after fatally stabbing 41-year-old Stephanie Minter at a bus stop in Hybla Valley, Virginia.

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