Despite multiple arrests of an illegal immigrant who was allowed into the country through the Biden-Harris administration’s parole program, a county in northern Virginia refused multiple detainer requests by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and released him back into the community.
Venezuelan national Yohandri Roger Mosquera-Rosas had been arrested four times by Fairfax County police since entering the country illegally near El Paso, Texas, in October 2022 and paroled into the U.S., ICE said in a news release.
Mosquera-Rosas had been arrested from Jan. 1, 2023, to May 2 of this year on charges ranging from malicious wounding, using a firearm in commission of a felony, driving while intoxicated, and hit and run. On each occasion, Enforcement and Removal Operations officials in the Washington, D.C., field office filed immigration detainers for Mosquera-Rosas with the Fairfax Adult Detention Center, ICE said. Three times, the detainers were denied, and Mosquera-Rosas was released back into the community.
On another occasion, Mosquera-Rosas had been released from custody before the detainer was received.
ERO’s Special Response Team in Washington tracked down Mosquera-Rosas on Sept. 12 in Springfield, Virginia, and he reportedly remains in custody at a facility in Farmville, Viriginia.
"Yohandri Roger Mosquera-Rosas' charges render him a significant threat to the residents of our northern Virginia neighborhoods," said Lisa Castano, director of ERO’s Washington field office, in the news release. "Mosquera allegedly committed numerous firearms crimes, including one that apparently endangered a child. ERO Washington, D.C. will continue to prioritize the safety of our public by apprehending and removing egregious noncitizen offenders from our Washington, D.C. and Virginia communities."
Although Fairfax County said on its website it is not a sanctuary for illegal immigrants, in 2021 its board of supervisors passed the “Trust Policy” to “reaffirm current county policy and improve community health, welfare, safety, security and trust by ensuring that immigrant residents can access county benefits and services without fear that the information they share will be disclosed to federal immigration officials."
Sean D. Kennedy, president of Virginians for Safe Communities, told the Fairfax Times last month the county used to have a provision in its bail laws that required police to hold a person until their next hearing if they are presumed to be in the country illegally. Kennedy said the “Trust Policy” is a threat to the safety of local residents.
"Prior to 2021 bail law changes in Virginia, the courts defaulted to holding illegal immigrants accused of crimes until their trials," Kennedy said. "But now illegal aliens — just like every other defendant — receive the benefit of the doubt that a lawbreaking foreign national will show up to court to face American justice." He said the new policy amounts to "blind faith in our blind justice system."
In 2023, violent crime in Fairfax County increased 8.7%, the seventh-most significant increase in the country, the Washington Examiner reported. Aggravated assaults increased 17%, from 579 in 2022 to 679 in 2023.
Newsmax reached out to Fairfax County for comment.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.