U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced the deportation of Marcelo Vasquez Reyna, a Mexican national and illegal immigrant convicted of sexually abusing his own daughter in Virginia. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) described Vasquez Reyna as a "depraved freak" in a statement on X, formerly Twitter, emphasizing that "criminals like this sicko have NO sanctuary in our nation."
Records from the Albemarle County Circuit Criminal Division show Vasquez Reyna pleaded guilty in March to a charge involving a parent violating a child between the ages of 15 and 17. The incident occurred in 2018. He received a sentence of five years and six months, with five years suspended. Local outlet ABC 7 reported that Vasquez Reyna was arrested in March following his conviction and also faced charges of attempted rape and abduction.
The deportation of Vasquez Reyna comes as parts of Virginia have experienced an increase in crimes involving individuals who are in the country illegally. Fairfax County, in particular, has seen several high-profile cases.
According to a DHS report cited by local outlets, approximately 75% of murders in Fairfax County are committed by individuals in the country illegally. This statistic has intensified debate surrounding the county's sanctuary city policies and their effect on public safety.
In another case, ICE lodged a detainer in July for Nehemia Noel Fuentes-Banegas, an illegal immigrant accused of ambushing a Fairfax County police officer. DHS stated that officers responded to a report of a man armed with knives who left a home after an argument. When officers searched a wooded area, DHS reported that Fuentes-Banegas emerged, attempted to grab an officer's gun, and tried to disarm him. The Fairfax County Police Department stated that one officer fired his service weapon while another deployed a Taser, and the bullet grazed Fuentes-Banegas' shoulder.
Israel Flores Ortiz, an illegal immigrant who was 18 at the time, was also accused of groping several underage girls at a Fairfax County high school. He was an 18-year-old undocumented immigrant at the time of the alleged incidents.
Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger has faced criticism regarding her administration's approach to immigration enforcement. Upon taking office, she rescinded an executive order from her predecessor that directed state law enforcement agencies to assist federal immigration enforcement. Governor Spanberger also ordered state and local law enforcement agencies to terminate all 287(g) agreements with ICE and prohibited ICE from using state property for federal civil immigration enforcement activities.