An illegal immigrant from El Salvador, who had a final deportation order since July 2024, was arrested last week on charges of distributing fentanyl near a Virginia high school. Isaac Melendez-Carranza, 31, was apprehended on August 20 and is currently held without bond at the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center.
According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), an immigration judge issued a final order of removal for Melendez-Carranza on July 18, 2024. He was encountered in Sterling, Virginia, on August 16, 2024, but no immediate action was taken, DHS stated, attributing this to the Biden administration's policies.
The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office identified Melendez-Carranza as a suspect in drug dealing connected to overdoses involving students at Park View High School in May. During a search of his home, deputies seized approximately 100 pills and $1,000 in cash. Multiple students had been hospitalized following suspected overdoses at the school in May, with additional students taken for evaluation.
In 2016, U.S. Border Patrol arrested Melendez-Carranza near Hebbronville, Texas, after he illegally entered the United States via the Rio Grande. He was released on bond on July 13, 2016, according to DHS.
Sheriff Mike Chapman described the case as alarming due to the accessibility of illicit drugs to students. He confirmed that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has placed a detainer on Melendez-Carranza. He is expected to be transferred to federal immigration authorities after his local criminal charges are resolved.
The sheriff’s office indicated that further arrests in connection with the case are possible but did not provide a timeline.