Virginia migrant crime surge sparks debate over sanctuary policies
In Virginia, the issue of migrant-related crimes is coming to a head as illegal immigrants are being charged with serious offenses, including sexual crimes. Bill Hemmer and Dana Perino discussed this rising concern, highlighting specific cases in Fairfax County reported by Griff Jenkins. The incidents involve individuals like Israel Flores Ortiz and Angel David Rubio Moran. Meanwhile, Josh Holmes has criticized Governor Abigail Spanberger’s recent executive order, which puts an end to collaboration with ICE, intensifying the debate over sanctuary policies and their repercussions on public safety within the state.
A Honduran national in Northern Virginia is facing serious legal troubles after federal immigration authorities placed a detainer on him for allegedly attempting to disarm a police officer during an altercation.
Following an incident where he allegedly ambushed a police officer, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has requested that Fairfax County officials keep Nehemia Noel Fuentes-Banegas in custody rather than releasing him.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported that officers were called to a scene in Annandale after a man reportedly exited a residence with two knives following an altercation.
A body camera worn by a Fairfax County police officer recorded the moment Nehemia Noel Fuentes-Banegas attempted to disarm the officer in Annandale, Virginia. (Fairfax County Police Department)
Fairfax County police said the man also stabbed himself before leaving the residence and fleeing into a nearby wooded area.
As officers searched a wooded area, Fuentes-Banegas allegedly emerged from the brush, grabbed an officer’s firearm and attempted to disarm the officer, DHS said.
Fairfax County police said one officer fired his service weapon while a second officer simultaneously deployed a department-issued Taser. The bullet grazed Fuentes-Banegas’ shoulder, police said.
Fuentes-Banegas was arrested and charged with attempted disarming of a law enforcement officer. ICE has lodged a detainer requesting that Fairfax County notify federal authorities before his release.
Nehemia Noel Fuentes-Banegas is accused of attempting to disarm a Fairfax County police officer during an encounter in Northern Virginia, according to authorities. Federal immigration officials have lodged a detainer seeking his transfer to ICE custody. (Fairfax County Police Department)
According to DHS, Fuentes-Banegas entered the United States illegally through Texas in 2022 and was later released under the Biden administration.
“This criminal illegal alien from Honduras attacked a law enforcement officer and attempted to take the officer’s gun,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
“He has now been charged with attempted disarming of a law enforcement officer,” she continued. “ICE is calling on Governor Abigail Spanberger and her fellow sanctuary politicians to commit to not releasing this dangerous criminal from jail.”
DHS blamed Virginia’s sanctuary policies for limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities, arguing they have made the commonwealth “a magnet for illegal alien crime.”
Two knives were recovered during the arrest of Nehemia Noel Fuentes-Banegas, who is accused of attempting to disarm a Fairfax County police officer in Annandale, Virginia. (Fairfax County Police Department)
The department noted that Spanberger signed executive orders at the start of her administration ending former Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s 287(g) agreements and limiting state cooperation with ICE.
“Under Governor Spanberger, Virginia has become a hotbed of illegal alien crime,” DHS said.
DHS also pointed to the recent arrest of Raul Genesis Ortiz Moran, a Mexican national charged with second-degree murder and aggravated sexual battery in connection with the death of a 2-year-old girl in Louisa County.
“This horrific tragedy was completely avoidable because this illegal alien should have never been in our country. Governor Spanberger’s sanctuary policies have made Virginia a hotbed for illegal alien crime,” DHS Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis previously told News Media.
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger has been criticized by the Department of Homeland Security over the state’s immigration policies following the arrest of a Honduran national in Fairfax County. (Mike Kropf/Getty Images)
News Media has reached out to Spanberger’s office for comment.