There's a showdown brewing between Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the sanctuary county of Fairfax, Virginia, whose George Soros-funded prosecutor, Steve Descano, has repeatedly released violent illegals back into the community.
The latest case garnering headlines involves an illegal alien from El Salvador who was arrested last week for the rape and "strongarm kidnapping" of a woman in Fairfax. That illegal, Juan Arevalo Mendez, is a textbook case for how sanctuary city policies like those espoused by Descano – and reinforced by Virginia's Democrat governor, Abigail Spanberger – put the commonwealth's residents in danger every day.
Fox News' Bill Melugin had the details behind Arevalo Mendez's most recent arrest:
NEW: DHS confirms that a suspect arrested and charged with rape and strongarm kidnapping of a woman in Fairfax County, VA is a previously deported Salvadoran illegal alien and ICE has placed a detainer on him with local law enforcement asking them not to release him. DHS says… pic.twitter.com/a6W9CFT4bs
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) July 7, 2026
NEW: DHS confirms that a suspect arrested and charged with rape and strongarm kidnapping of a woman in Fairfax County, VA is a previously deported Salvadoran illegal alien and ICE has placed a detainer on him with local law enforcement asking them not to release him. DHS says Juan Arevalo Mendez has a lengthy criminal history prior to these charges, including 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.
DHS statement:
“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.”
And it turns out that Arevalo Mendez – who, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), entered the U.S. illegally all the way back in 1991, was removed in 2003, and illegally reentered in 2013 – is actually quite well known to Descano, having been arrested numerous times over the years for a series of increasingly violent crimes.
Arevalo was previously convicted twice of aggravated assault, twice of property damage, attempted maiming, failure to appear, aggravated assault with a weapon, twice of assault, drug possession, illegal reentry, making a false report, and obstructing justice, and was previously arrested for assault, abduction, identity theft, drug possession and larceny.
The illegal's most recent brush with Fairfax County law enforcement involved a high-speed chase on the Beltway in January that resulted in multiple charges, including fleeing from police and charges stemming from "outstanding warrants for various crimes in Fairfax County, including abduction and assaulting a family member."
READ MORE: Sanctuary City DA Squirms When Confronted on Delayed Apology to Family of Mom Murdered by an Illegal
WATCH: Jim Jordan Brings Flamethrower to Capitol Hill Showdown With Sanctuary City DA Descano
Steve Descano dropped ALL of those charges, leaving Arevalo Mendez free to prey on the citizens of Fairfax County.
Descano and Fairfax County Sheriff Stacey Kincaid were hauled in front of a congressional hearing in May to discuss the county's sanctuary policies that seem to go easy on illegals based solely on their immigration status, leniency that is denied U.S. citizens. During that hearing, Kincaid said she would comply with an ICE detainer, despite Spanberger's attempt to stymie ICE activities in the commonwealth by revoking a Glenn Youngkin-era agreement between state and local law enforcement.
ICE has now triggered a showdown with Descano, Kincaid, and Spanberger by lodging a detainer against Juan Arevalo Mendez.
"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.”
The ball is now squarely in Spanberger's court.
Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump, illegal immigration into our great country has virtually stopped. Despite the radical left's lies, new legislation wasn't needed to secure our border, just a new president.
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