ERO Washington, D.C. arrests Bolivian national convicted of sex crimes against Virginia minor

ANNANDALE, Va. - Enforcement and Removal Operations Washington, D.C. apprehended an unlawfully present 36-year-old Bolivian noncitizen convicted of sexually assaulting a Virginia child. He is also charged with DWI and possession of child sexual abuse material. Officers with ERO Washington's Fugitive Operations Team arrested Jose Fabricio Veizaga-Vargas, Aug. 19 in Annandale.

"Jose Fabricio Veizaga-Vargas is a convicted sex offender who victimized a minor in Northern Virginia," said ERO Washington, D.C. Field Office Director Liana Castano. "We cannot allow such an obvious danger to threaten the children of our community. ERO Washington, D.C. will continue to prioritize public safety by arresting and removing egregious noncitizen offenders from our Washington, D.C. and Virginia neighborhoods."

U.S. Border Patrol arrested Veizaga April 24, 2023, after he unlawfully entered the United States near El Paso, Texas. U.S. Border Patrol officials served Veizaga with a notice to appear before a Department of Justice immigration judge and released him on his own recognizance April 25, 2023.

ERO Washington lodged an immigration detainer against Veizaga with the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center following his arrest by Fairfax County Police on May 3.

The Fairfax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court convicted Veizaga July 15 of misdemeanor sexual assault of a child aged 13 to 14 and sentenced him to six months in jail. The court then suspended all six months of the sentence. Later that day, the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center refused to honor the immigration detainer and released Veizaga from custody without notification to ERO Washington, D.C.

Fairfax County Police arrested Veizaga Aug. 8 and charged him with misdemeanor DWI as a first offense with a blood alcohol content of 0.15% to 0.20%. ERO Washington, D.C. lodged an immigration detainer against Veizaga with the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center following this arrest. However, the detention center refused to honor the immigration detainer and released Veizaga without notifying ERO Washington.

Fairfax County Police arrested Veizaga Aug. 15 and charged him with seven counts of felony possession of child pornography and felony possession of obscene material with minor. ERO Washington, D.C. again lodged an immigration detainer against Veizaga the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center following this arrest.

The detention center refused to honor the immigration detainer and again released Veizaga Aug. 16 without notifying ERO Washington, D.C.

Officers with ERO Washington, D.C.'s Fugitive Operations Team arrested Jose Fabricio Veizaga-Vargas, Aug. 19 in Annandale. ERO Washington, D.C. served Veizaga with a notice of custody determination. Veizaga remains in ERO custody.

As part of its mission to identify and arrest removable noncitizens, ERO lodges immigration detainers against noncitizens who have been arrested for criminal activity and taken into custody by state or local law enforcement. 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.

By issuing an immigration detainer and the corresponding warrant, ERO requests that a law enforcement agency notify ERO before releasing a noncitizen and maintain custody of the subject for a period not to exceed 48 hours - excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays - to allow ICE to assume custody.

This request flows from federal regulations and from ICE's general authority to detain individuals who are subject to removal or removal proceedings.

Detainers are critical public safety tools because they focus enforcement resources on removable noncitizens who have been arrested for criminal activity. Detainers increase the safety of all parties involved - ERO personnel, law enforcement officials, removable noncitizens and the public - by allowing an arrest to be made in a secure and controlled custodial setting as opposed to at-large within the community. Because detainers result in the direct transfer of a noncitizen from state or local custody to ERO custody, they also minimize the potential that an individual will reoffend. Additionally, detainers conserve scarce government resources by allowing ERO to take criminal noncitizens into custody directly rather than expending resources locating these individuals at-large.

ERO conducts removals of individuals without a lawful basis to remain in the United States, including at the order of immigration judges with the Justice Department's Executive Office for Immigration Review. The Executive Office for Immigration Review is a separate entity from the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Immigration judges in these courts make decisions based on the merits of each individual case, determining if a noncitizen is subject to a final order of removal or eligible for certain forms of relief from removal.

Members of the public can report crimes and suspicious activity by dialing 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or completing the online tip form.

Learn more about ICE's mission to increase public safety in your community on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @EROWashington.

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