ICE Arrests Three-Time Deported Felon in Virginia as Mullin Blasts Spanberger

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin criticized Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia after a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation led to the arrest of a three-time felon in Manassas.

Mullin spoke exclusively with Fox News Digital following a 4 a.m. raid that captured Marvin Len Morales. The suspect, who had been deported twice before, faced felony drug charges and a misdemeanor DWI charge on his record.

Standing near the handcuffed Morales, Mullin said the arrest showed the fallout from Spanberger and Virginia Democrats restricting cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities. He argued those policies hinder ICE efforts to remove repeat offenders from communities.

"Well, unfortunately, we're not working with [Spanberger] at all. She's criminalized us to some degree. She went out there, she's warned all law enforcement not to work with us," Mullin told Fox News Digital.

"This individual right here that we just arrested, this is his third time to be deported. He self-deported once, he was deported again. He's snuck back across, he's been living back here in this country again with a history of criminal activity. This shouldn't be happening in our streets, in our neighborhood," Mullin said.

Mullin pointed to Virginia's sanctuary state status and lack of local cooperation with federal law enforcement as factors encouraging criminal activity. He noted that Spanberger's government sought to cancel all 287G programs, which allow local law enforcement to partner with federal authorities to remove criminals.

"Just use Fairfax, Virginia, for example. Roughly 50% of the murders in Fairfax, Virginia... the perps are illegal, shouldn't even be in the country to begin with. That's just in Fairfax. You think about what's happening in Virginia. When you make Virginia a sanctuary city, you encourage more illegal activities," he said.

Mullin said he prefers local partnerships. "Ideally I wouldn't want to be picking this guy up. Ideally we'd want local to pick him up. He's been picked up for a DUI before. It would have been great to have a detainer on him, go and pick him up and deport him that way without us having to go through the neighborhood."

He accused Democratic leaders of prioritizing political aspirations over the law. "They start causing all the political theater because they're too afraid of their own base and they're afraid that they're gonna get beat in a primary," Mullin said. "You can't work that way, I'm sorry. Either we are going to work together to make sure that we have a nation of laws that we're gonna enforce, that by the way Congress passed, and allow law enforcement to do their job."

Mullin praised ICE agents for their work despite limited local and state support. "Right now what you're seeing is ICE doing their job. I mean, it's early in the morning and these guys are out there working every day, protecting their roads, protecting their streets," he told Fox News.

DHS has 22,000 ICE officers and 80,000 officers overall, Mullin noted. "They're doing exactly what President Trump said he wants to. Get America's streets safe again, the previous administration let them run amok that these are criminals. Even when we have you know politicians that want to protect the criminals, President Trump is still protecting all our neighborhoods and these guys around here doing their job even early in the morning."

Fox News Digital contacted Spanberger's office for comment but received no response in time for publication.