The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has lodged a detainer, requesting Virginia officials not to release Rolando Sanchez Velazquez, an illegal alien charged with assaulting a woman in a Loudoun County park. Velazquez, from El Salvador, was arrested on July 22 following an incident on July 15 where he allegedly attacked a woman on a walking trail, grabbing her by the neck and pulling her hair before she escaped. He now faces charges of abduction and assault and battery.
Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis emphasized ICE's position, saying, "This illegal alien attacked a woman while she was walking in a park, and now faces charges of abduction and assault and battery. ICE is requesting that Governor Abigail Spanberger and her fellow sanctuary politicians commit to not releasing this criminal from jail and turn him over to ICE so we can remove him from our country." Bis added, "Governor Spanberger must STOP RELEASING criminal illegal aliens into Virginia communities to perpetrate more crimes and create more victims."
The DHS statement highlighted that Governor Spanberger, early in her term, signed executive orders prohibiting state cooperation with ICE and ending 287(g) agreements. The department asserted that "Under Governor Spanberger, Virginia has become a hotbed of illegal alien crime," and listed several other recent cases. These included arrests for murder and aggravated sexual battery, rape and abduction, child sexual abuse material production, indecent exposure, child molestation, carjacking, and sexual assault of minors across various Virginia counties since May.