ICE arrests sex offender in Annandale
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested a convicted sex offender in Annandale on Aug. 19.
According to a press release issued by ICE on Aug. 23, Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) agents apprehended and arrested Jose Fabricio Veizaga-Vargas, a 36-year-old Bolivian who had been convicted of sexually assaulting a Virginia child.
Veizaga was also charged with driving while intoxicated and possession of child sexual abuse material.
U.S. Border Patrol arrested Veizaga on April 24, 2023, after he unlawfully entered the United States near El Paso, Texas. Border Patrol officials served him with a notice to appear before a Department of Justice immigration judge and released him on his own recognizance.
Fairfax County Police arrested Veizaga on May 3 for the sexual assault of a child aged 13 or 14. Later that day, ERO lodged an immigration detainer against Veizaga.
According to ICE, the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center refused to honor the immigration detainer and released Veizaga from custody without notifying the ERO’s Washington office.
Veizaga was convicted of a misdemeanor in the Fairfax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court and sentenced to six months in jail. The court then suspended the sentence.
Fairfax County Police arrested Veizaga on Aug. 8 and charged him with misdemeanor DWI as a first offense with a blood alcohol content of 0.15 to 0.20 percent. Police arrested him again on Aug. 15 and charged him with seven counts of felony possession of child pornography and felony possession of obscene material with a minor.
Both of those times, ERO says it filed additional immigration detainers against Veizaga, and both times, the Adult Detention Center failed to honor the detainers and released him without notifying the ERO.
Then on Aug. 19, officers with the ERO’s Fugitive Operations Team arrested Veizaga in Annandale and served him with a notice of custody determination. He remains in ERO custody.
“As part of its mission to identify and arrest removable noncitizens, ERO lodges immigration detainers against non-citizens who have been arrested for criminal activity and taken into custody by state or local law enforcement,” the ICE press release states. “An immigration detainer is a request from ICE to state or local law enforcement agencies to notify ERO as early as possible before a removable noncitizen is released from their custody.”
It is the policy of the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office not to honor ICE detainers. Sheriff Stacey Kincaid requires ICE to get a judicial warrant, even for non-citizen violent offenders.
“Jose Fabricio Veizaga-Vargas is a convicted sex offender who victimized a minor in Northern Virginia,” said ERO Washington Field Office Director Liana Castano. “We cannot allow such an obvious danger to threaten the children of our community.” The ERO “will continue to prioritize public safety by arresting and removing egregious noncitizen offenders from our Washington, D.C., and Virginia neighborhoods.”
9 responses to “ICE arrests sex offender in Annandale”
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Stacy Kincaid is an elected official who should be removed from office. Allowing sex offenders to go free is unacceptable. Obstructing ICE operations against an illegal immigrant sex offender is unforgivable. Time for a recall to vote her out.
Thank you Mr. Spanos, have to second that opinion. It seems the county sheriff’s office does not want to work with the federal authorities to keep us safe for some reason. I wonder what that could be.
Is it the Sheriff’s policy only, or is this a county wide policy? I seem to recall that Fairfax County Police Department also refuses to work with federal immigration law enforcement officers as well. Could this be a Board of Supervisors directive to all county law enforcement? The sheriff had the support of Fairfax Democratic Party, even though her own employee ran against her. As I recall, her opponent had a similar position of not working with immigration authorities. Sometimes it makes sense to be judicious, but this case proves a blatant approach of NOT holding criminals at the request of immigration officers is just wrong. BTW, under POTUS Biden – ICE can only ask local law enforcement to detain convicted criminals. So this is even worse, & the policy should be reversed. Note, under former POTUS Trump immigration officers could ask to hold any illegal alien, but hasn’t been that way for nearly four years.
From the County’s own website
https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/sheriff/sheriff-terminates-intergovernmental-service-agreement-ice
There are many good people who come into this country illegally for a multitude of reasons. The vast majority of these folks, at least in my experience, are hard workers who just want to have a chance at a life of freedom and a better life for their children.
People like this criminal make all those good people look bad, and the Sheriff’s Office should be ashamed of themselves for not locking up a child sex offender, illegal immigrant or otherwise.
We all need to remember this next election. The people we voted for and counted on to keep us safe are not doing their jobs.
Sincere question: why have laws, police, or borders?
ICE should never have had to go into the community to get this guy. FFX police had him. The sherrif’s office refuses to work with ICE and as a result they released him, only to make it a more dangerous endeavor for ICE to go get him again and deport him. Do Better Stacy Kincaid.
An easy fix Sheriff. Accept the ICE detainer and prior to subject’s release from your custody, contact ICE who in turn will do their job and pick up the subject from your jail. This way you’re not holding/detaining anyone beyond their terms of release. Simple, yes?
Welcome to Fairfax county.