A county supervisor in Virginia on Monday called for an end to sanctuary laws for illegal migrants after two murder suspects were confirmed to be living in the U.S. illegally, 7News reported.
Fairfax County Supervisor Pat Herrity, the one-and-only Republican supervisor in the deep blue jurisdiction, is demanding county officials put an end to laws that protect illegal migrant criminals in the county, according to 7News. Herrity’s public comments follow a brutal murder earlier this month along a popular hiking trail in Oakton, Virginia, with accusations that at least one of the illegal migrant suspects benefited from sanctuary laws before the murder.
“You clearly got Sheriff Chapman doing it and keeping his community safe,” Herrity told 7News, referring to how the sheriff of nearby Loudon County immediately notifies Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) when his deputies apprehend individuals who are in the country unlawfully.
“I think our residents expect the same from our sheriff. I think they’re failing their duty. Because when you’ve got repeat violent offenders being released into our community, whether that’s by the magistrates, whether that’s by the Commonwealth’s attorney or whether that’s by the sheriff, that’s just unacceptable,” Herrity continued.
The Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office previously confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation that it will not honor any ICE detainer without a judicial warrant. Their office reiterated this policy in the wake of the latest murder investigation involving suspects unlawfully living in the U.S.
“We need to keep violent offenders in jail or get them out of our country,” Herrity said.
A dead body was discovered on July 20 near a walking trail in the Oakton, Virginia, area, with investigators determining the man died from blunt force trauma and stab wounds, according to Fox 5. Three men have since been arrested in connection with the killing: Wilmer Adalid Guzman-Videz, Maudin Anibal Guzman-Videz and Luis Alonso Portillo.
ICE confirmed to the DCNF that 20-year-old Wilmer Adalid and 27-year-old Maudin Anibal are both Honduran nationals living in the U.S. illegally. Maudin Anibal has a lengthy history with local authorities since 2023, having been previously charged with malicious assault, entering a building at night with intent to commit larceny and malicious wounding, among other alleged crimes.
Between Oct. 27, 2022, and June 28, 2023, ICE’s Washington, D.C., office lodged multiple detainers for Maudin Anibal, but Fairfax County authorities ignored all of them and released him from their custody, the agency said to the DCNF. Those previous arrests — and ignored ICE detainer requests — proceeded his arrest this month for murder.
Despite sticking by their sanctuary policy, the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office claimed to 7News that they never received detainer requests for Maudin Anibal.
“If you’re a U.S. citizen and a violent offender, you’re treated worse than if you are if you’re in the country illegally and a violent offender,” Herrity said to 7News. “I mean, that makes absolutely no sense. I’m sorry, that just makes no sense.”
Fairfax County has attracted national attention for its local laws protecting criminal illegal migrants from ICE apprehension. The Washington, D.C.,-based Immigration Reform Law Institute once included the jurisdiction on its “Ten Worst Sanctuary Communities” in the country, and the county attracted the ire of former ICE chief Tom Homan after a police officer was suspended in 2019 for simply turning an illegal migrant over to federal immigration authorities.
Earlier this month, ICE blasted Fairfax County authorities for ignoring a detainer and releasing back into the community an illegal migrant convicted of sexual intercourse with a minor.
The Fairfax County jail has detained 725 illegal migrants in the past twelve months, but only three were transferred to ICE, according to 7News.
The Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office denied to the DCNF receiving a detainer request for Maudin Anibal in 2024.
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