ICE Arrests Guatemalan Child Rapist Released by Fairfax County Despite Detainer

Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested a Guatemalan national convicted of child rape after local officials in Fairfax County, Virginia, released him despite an agency detainer.

ICE took Walvin Victor Hugo Garcia into custody on Friday following his appearance in Fairfax County court. He faced felony charges from a June arrest: rape of a child less than 13 years of age, aggravated sexual battery of a victim under 13 years of age, use of a computer to commit a sex offense with a minor, and distributing drugs to a minor.

The agency had lodged a detainer after his June arrest, requesting the county hold Garcia. But sanctuary politicians refused to cooperate with ICE, an agency press release said, and allowed him to leave court without notification to federal authorities.

The Department of Homeland Security blamed local officials in Virginia and Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger. "Governor Spanberger and her fellow sanctuary politicians in Fairfax, Virginia refused to cooperate with ICE and RELEASED this child rapist from jail back onto the streets," Acting DHS Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

"This criminal illegal alien from Guatemala has been charged with raping a child under 13, aggravated sexual battery of a victim under 13, and distributing drugs to a minor. Thanks to our brave law enforcement, this sicko is out of our communities. Governor Spanberger and Fairfax sanctuary politicians are playing Russian roulette with American lives by releasing criminals from jail into American neighborhoods."

Garcia first entered the country illegally near Eagle Pass, Texas, in 2023 during the Biden administration and was released into the United States, ICE said. A Virginia immigration judge issued a final order of removal for him in February 2025.

DHS called the situation a "Sanctuary Calamity" in a press release.

The Garcia case marks the latest high-profile incident in Fairfax County cited by DHS and immigration enforcement advocates. In April, ICE arrested another Guatemalan national, Roni Mendez-Escobar, after Fairfax authorities released him despite charges of possessing and intending to distribute child pornography.

That month, authorities charged Misael Lopez Gomez, also from Guatemala, with murder and felony child abuse in the death of his 3-month-old daughter. Earlier in the year, Anibal Armando Chavarria Muy faced second-degree murder charges after a fatal stabbing, and Abdul Jalloh, a Sierra Leone national with a lengthy arrest record, was charged in the stabbing death of a Virginia woman at a bus stop.

Spanberger has said repeatedly that Virginia is not a sanctuary state, one that prevents local law enforcement from partnering with federal immigration efforts. But she rescinded local-federal coordination requirements as one of her first acts as governor, arguing Virginia's resources would be better spent enforcing state laws.

"Virginians have been deprived of critical public safety and local law enforcement to divert their limited resources for use in enforcing federal civil immigration laws," Spanberger said in a press release.

Last month, during a press gaggle, she called it an "absolute lie" that state and local police are unwilling to work with federal agencies, including ICE.

Conservatives have criticized Spanberger as the face of Virginia's immigration policies. President Donald Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, told Fox News Digital in an April interview that if she refuses to cooperate, he would send more teams into the streets.

"Elections have consequences," Homan said. "[Spanberger] ran on a law enforcement position that she was a career law enforcement person. [She] is a much different person now since she’s in that governor’s slot."

Fairfax County Sheriff Stacey Ann Kincaid and Commonwealth’s Attorney Steven Descano have faced criticism over illegal immigrant violence and will testify voluntarily at an upcoming Immigration Integrity, Security and Enforcement Subcommittee hearing on "Fairfax County Virginia – The Dangerous Consequences of Sanctuary City Policies."