Fairfax County leaders accused of prioritizing illegal immigrant criminal over young girls’ safety
Fairfax County leaders face harsh criticism for allegedly prioritizing illegal criminals over the safety of young girls. The discussion centers on Israel Flores Ortiz, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador, convicted of groping nine high school girls after illegally entering the U.S. in 2024. The panel probes local officials’ policies and the flawed vetting process amidst rising violent crimes.
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An illegal immigrant from El Salvador was returned to his home country this week after the Department of Homeland Security took him into custody in sanctuary Fairfax County, Virginia, where he had just served an abbreviated jail sentence, and deported him.
The case is only the latest in a string of controversies involving illegal immigrants plaguing the Democrat-led county adjacent to Washington, D.C., where sanctuary policies run up against the Trump administration’s heavy-handed approach to removing people who do not belong in the U.S.
“This groper is gone,” an ICE spokesperson told Digital.
ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ISRAEL FLORES ORTIZ GETS 360 DAYS FOR GROPING GIRLS AT FAIRFAX COUNTY VA. HIGH SCHOOL
A photo of the Fairfax High School campus in Fairfax, Virginia from March 15, 2022. (L) A mugshot of Israel Flores Ortiz, accused of groping girls at Fairfax High School, taken in March 2025. (John M. Chase/Getty Images; Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office)
“Israel Flores-Ortiz, an illegal alien who groped multiple high school girls in Fairfax County, VA, was deported to El Salvador yesterday. DHS will never stop fighting to remove sickos like Flores-Ortiz, and make America safe again.”
Flores-Ortiz was facing a lengthy jail sentence after being arrested for touching the private parts of nine schoolgirls earlier this year.
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He had been released into the nation’s interior during the Biden administration and enrolled as a junior at Fairfax High School, according to ABC’s Washington affiliate.
Despite facing several years in prison, Flores-Ortiz was released after only about nine months. Several days before his ultimate release, a DOJ immigration judge reportedly ordered him removed from the U.S.
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Enforcement and Removal Operations agents walk outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) building Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025, in Broadview, Ill. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
It was then that DHS agents arrested Flores-Ortiz.
A spokesperson for Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano said Flores-Ortiz’ss custody and transfer were the responsibility of the sheriff’s office, not the commonwealth’s attorney.
Kincaid’s office told Digital on Thursday that the agency released Flores-Ortiz into ICE custody, citing a Virginia law that allows for transfer up to five days before a release.
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Virginians for Safe Communities leader Sean Kennedy told FOX’s Washington affiliate the decision was “heartening,” noting Kincaid refused 615 detainer requests over a 16-month period and turned over only 11 people to federal authorities. In Flores-Ortiz’s case, the existence of a court order may have influenced the decision, but her office did not immediately elaborate.
Descano and Kincaid were grilled by congressional lawmakers over their general noncooperation with ICE earlier this year.
ICE told Digital that the agency arrested Flores-Ortiz on August 31 and deported him on Wednesday.
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“Under the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Mullin, criminal illegal aliens are not welcome – especially those who harm our American communities,” the spokesperson said.
A parent of one of the victims told ABC’s Washington affiliate that there were about 12 students who reported encounters with Flores-Ortiz:
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“He just sneakily walked up behind them and put his hand in between their legs. It was not just a butt smack or a butt grab. It was a groping of a private area. It had been occurring for several months,” the mom said.
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In a letter to parents earlier this year, Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Michelle Reid wrote that such behavior is “unacceptable” and that the district hired outside counsel to “conduct a comprehensive review of the matter.”
