Federal immigration authorities are demanding that local officials in northern Virginia block the release of an undocumented immigrant facing charges of rape and kidnapping, pointing to a criminal record spanning nearly three decades.
Juan Arevalo Mendez was arrested on June 30 in Prince William County, Virginia. Local police charged him with strong-arm rape and adult kidnapping with the intent to sexually assault. The charges stem from an assault reported in Falls Church in September 2025.
Immediately following the arrest, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued an immigration detainer. The detainer formally requests that Fairfax County jail officials notify ICE before releasing Mendez, allowing federal agents to take him into custody for deportation proceedings.
Records released by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) show Mendez originally entered the U.S. as a legal permanent resident in 1991. He lost that legal status in 1998 following a conviction for destruction of property. Over the next 28 years, Mendez accumulated convictions for assault, aggravated assault with a weapon, drug possession, obstruction of justice, and making a false report. He has also been arrested on charges of identity theft and larceny.
Federal records indicate Mendez was first deported to El Salvador in 2003. He illegally returned to the U.S. and was deported a second time in 2014. He later re-entered the country a third time at an unknown date and location.
The arrest comes amid strict policy divisions over immigration enforcement in Virginia. Upon taking office, Governor Abigail Spanberger signed executive orders that ended 287(g) agreements, which previously allowed state and local law enforcement officers to perform certain federal immigration tasks.
Federal officials criticized the state’s current policies following the arrest. “DHS is calling on Governor Abigail Spanberger and her fellow sanctuary politicians in Fairfax County to commit to not releasing this dangerous criminal from jail,” said Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis in a statement. Bis added that local officials “need to stop playing Russian roulette with American lives and work with ICE law enforcement to keep criminals out of our communities.”
DHS accompanied the announcement with a list of recent cases in Virginia involving undocumented individuals. These include the June conviction of Samuel Flores de Dios, sentenced to 30 years for producing child sexual abuse material, and several active June detainers for individuals facing charges ranging from carjacking to the molestation of minor children across northern Virginia counties.
Fairfax County and state officials have not yet issued a formal response to the federal detainer request. Mendez remains held in local custody pending trial on the sexual assault and abduction charges.
READ: U.S. Marshals: Massachusetts Dragnet Snags 110 Violent Fugitives Off The Streets
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