Immigration and Customs Enforcement removed a convicted child sex offender from Virginia after federal officials warned Governor Abigail Spanberger to stop releasing criminal illegal immigrants back into communities.
Story Highlights
- Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported Marcelo Vasquez-Reyna after a Virginia conviction for indecent liberties with a child.
- Department of Homeland Security urged Governor Spanberger to transfer jailed criminal aliens to Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, not release them.
- Governor Spanberger denies Virginia is a “sanctuary state,” while reports show she changed state cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
- The case underscores why local-federal coordination matters when dangerous offenders finish their sentences.
Who Was Removed And Why It Matters
Officials said Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Marcelo Vasquez-Reyna on March 24 and removed him from the United States after his Virginia conviction. Local news reported he was convicted in Albemarle County for “indecent liberties with a child,” a Class 5 felony under Virginia law. The removal followed federal attention on criminal offenders without legal status who pose a public safety threat. The clear message is simple: when a dangerous offender is identified, he must not be released back into a neighborhood.
Virginia’s indecent liberties statute makes it a felony for an adult to take indecent liberties with a child under 15. The law spells out acts that trigger the offense and sets penalties for those convicted. That legal standard anchors the Albemarle County case. With the conviction established in state court, Immigration and Customs Enforcement had a straightforward basis to act after custody, remove the offender, and prevent a repeat crime in the community.
DHS Pressures Virginia On Jail Transfers
The Department of Homeland Security publicly pressed Virginia leaders to turn over criminal noncitizens to federal custody upon release. In a July notice, the department said it requested that Governor Abigail Spanberger and “sanctuary politicians” not release a named criminal from jail, but transfer him to Immigration and Customs Enforcement so he could be removed from the country. That call highlights a core safety point: timely jail-to-federal transfers stop dangerous offenders from slipping back onto the street.
After the deportation, the department’s stance remained the same: state and local agencies should work with federal officers to protect families from repeat offenders. That stance lines up with the broader enforcement push to prioritize criminals who threaten public safety. For conservative readers, the takeaway is direct. Cooperation saves lives, and delays or refusals to coordinate create risk that falls on law-abiding families, not on the offender.
Spanberger’s Denials And The Policy Dispute
Governor Spanberger has pushed back on the “sanctuary” label. She said “Virginia is not a sanctuary state, full stop,” and called claims of an across-the-board halt in cooperation “an absolute lie.” She also said the state police would no longer be under Immigration and Customs Enforcement supervision. At the same time, reporting shows she sought changes to immigration measures and rolled back a prior directive that had expanded state cooperation with federal immigration agents.
DHS announces the deportation of Marcelo Vasquez Reyna, a Mexican national and convicted sex offender. The agency labels him a 'depraved freak' following his guilty plea involving the sexual abuse of his teenage daughter. pic.twitter.com/Uh5vyjXqR0
— News Now (@NewsNowUS) August 18, 2026
Governor Spanberger has also said violent criminals without legal status should be prosecuted and then deported. “They should be deported, full stop,” she told a local outlet this spring. That statement matches what Department of Homeland Security asked for in practice: do not release dangerous offenders back into communities; hand them to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for removal. The Vasquez-Reyna case shows how that handoff should work when everyone puts public safety first.
What This Means For Public Safety In Virginia
Federal removal of a convicted child sex offender is a clear win for families. But one case does not fix a policy gap. Federal officers need prompt notice and custody transfers when criminals finish their local sentences. That is how communities avoid preventable harm. The Albemarle County case should be a model: convict the offender, complete the sentence, and transfer to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for removal, with no release into a neighborhood in between.
Sources:
redstate.com, wjla.com, law.lis.virginia.gov
