In a surprising move, sanctuary authorities in Virginia handed an illegal immigrant convicted of groping multiple girls over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Monday.
Israel Christopher Flores-Ortiz, 19, of El Salvador, groped multiple female students at a Virginia high school and was sentenced to just 360 days behind bars and two years of probation for his crimes. When ICE learned of his arrest in March, the agency lodged a detainer with the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office — an agency notorious for releasing illegal immigrants from custody — asking officials to transfer him to federal custody.
On Monday, the sheriff’s office handed Flores-Ortiz over to ICE.
Sean Kennedy, a member of the Fairfax County Criminal Justice Advisory Board and president of Virginians for Safe Communities, applauded the sheriff’s move to comply with ICE’s request but warned that it is likely not indicative of a broader policy change.
“It’s a good thing that the Fairfax County Sheriff followed Virginia law in this case and assisted in the orderly transfer of custody of this convicted groper criminal alien. But one case does not prove that Fairfax County has come to its senses on this,” Kennedy told The Daily Wire.
“Just a few months ago, the County Board refused to even consider amending its sanctuary policies for the violent criminals and sex predators. I’m pleased but not optimistic anything will change as long as the county board, who controls the sheriff’s budget, protects criminal aliens at the expense of both American citizens and immigrants themselves, who are most often the victims of criminal aliens,” he said.
The Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to The Daily Wire on Monday that “the inmate was released to ICE.”
An ICE spokesperson later told The Daily Wire that agents arrested Flores-Ortiz “following his release from the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center” on Monday.
Flores-Ortiz crossed the border illegally in 2024, when federal authorities released him into the United States, according to ICE.
He ended up attending Fairfax High School, where roughly a dozen girls accused him of groping them in the school’s hallways. Some of the girls said he placed his hands between their legs and touched their private areas.
While serving his sentence for the gropings, an immigration judge ordered his deportation on Aug. 10, ICE said.
The agency intends to hold him until he is deported from the United States.
“Flores-Ortiz had been in the FCADC since March 25 serving his sentence for sexually assaulting nine high-school students. Flores-Ortiz illegally entered the United States in 2024 and was RELEASED into the country under the Biden administration,” the ICE spokesperson said.
“Flores-Ortiz will remain in ICE custody pending his removal from the country. Under the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Mullin, criminal illegal aliens are not welcome – especially those who harm our American communities,” the spokesperson said.
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