Stephanie Minter bled out at a Fairfax County bus stop in February while her alleged killer – a man with 30 prior arrests – walked free because sanctuary politicians kept releasing him.
ICE just ran the biggest operation in the agency's history through those same Virginia and Maryland sanctuary jurisdictions.
And ICE agents found a lot more than just a murder suspect hiding in Governor Abigail Spanberger’s sanctuary state.
1,328 Arrests in 14 Days While Sanctuary Politicians Looked the Other Way
Operation Safe Community – Washington, D.C. ran from August 1 through August 14, sweeping through the D.C. suburbs of Virginia and Maryland.
ICE officers arrested 1,328 illegal aliens in those two weeks.
Nearly 400 of those arrested carried criminal convictions or pending charges – ra*e, kidnapping, robbery, DUI, attempted murder.
ICE also pulled in members of MS-13, the 18th Street Gang, and Tren de Aragua.
In Richmond, officers arrested Eygner Wilfredo Huezo-Moran from El Salvador – a man with an active murder warrant and a firearms charge sitting right there in the system.
In Alexandria – one of the most affluent suburbs in America – ICE arrested Angel Gabriel Ortiz-Hernandez from Guatemala, whose record includes ra*e of a mentally incapacitated victim and two counts of aggravated sexual battery of an incapacitated person.
https://twitter.com/foxnewspolitics/status/2091955750134481079?s=20
In Manassas, ICE grabbed German Mejia-Baires, an MS-13 member from El Salvador with a felony malicious wounding arrest and DWI convictions.
These men were not hiding in the shadows.
They were living in Virginia and Maryland neighborhoods while local politicians made sure ICE couldn't touch them.
Spanberger Signed the Order Protecting Them
Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger – the same Democrat who spent years telling Northern Virginia voters she was a "moderate" – signed an executive order as one of her first acts in office barring state and local authorities from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement.
Fairfax County, which sits at the center of this operation's footprint, has had sanctuary policies in place since 2017.
DHS has documented that illegal aliens committed 75% of all murders in Fairfax County so far in 2026.
https://twitter.com/SpecialReport/status/2092011897608376831?s=20
Fairfax County Sheriff Stacey Kincaid refused to honor ICE's detainer on Stephanie Minter's alleged killer even after he had accumulated more than 30 arrests – ra*e, malicious wounding, assault, drugs.
Commonwealth's Attorney Steve Descano's office had dropped multiple charges against that man, Abdul Jalloh, which freed him to allegedly kill Minter at a bus stop while she waited for her ride.
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin didn't mince words after the operation concluded: "While sanctuary politicians in Virginia and Maryland keep putting the needs of illegal aliens over the safety of the American people, the Trump Administration will always put American citizens first."
ICE Did Not Ask Permission
ICE Acting Assistant Director Patricia Hyde summed it up after the operation closed.
Her officers are, she said, "the best in the world at finding people who do not want to be located."
They didn't need Fairfax County's cooperation.
They didn't need Spanberger's permission.
They didn't need Steve Descano to stop dropping charges for one afternoon.
That's the point sanctuary politicians always miss.
They can refuse to cooperate with ICE detainers.
They can drop charges.
They can issue executive orders.
https://twitter.com/GregB_TX/status/2091968741164929435?s=20
They cannot make 1,328 people invisible.
The Trump Administration has now run the most aggressive interior immigration enforcement in the agency's history – record-breaking arrests month after month – and Operation Safe Community is the blueprint for what targeted enforcement inside sanctuary jurisdictions actually looks like.
A murder warrant doesn't expire because a Virginia politician calls her county a sanctuary.
A ra*ist doesn't stop being a ra*ist because Steve Descano decided not to hold him for ICE.
The operation is over.
The people arrested are in federal custody pending removal.
Spanberger still hasn't issued a public statement.
Sources:
- Peter Pinedo and Bill Melugin, "ICE quietly arrests jaw-dropping number of illegal immigrants in massive DC area operation," Fox News, August 24, 2026.
- "ICE Operation Safe Community – Washington, D.C. Arrests More Than 1,300 Illegal Aliens Throughout Virginia, Maryland," Department of Homeland Security, August 24, 2026.
- "DHS Slams Fairfax County District Attorney's Office for Offering Insane 5-Year Plea Deal to Two Illegal Alien Murderers," Department of Homeland Security, April 6, 2026.
- "Illegal Alien with More Than 30 Prior Arrests Fatally Stabs Woman at Virginia Bus Stop," Department of Homeland Security, February 28, 2026.
- "DHS Asks Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger to Not Release Criminal Illegal Alien Charged with Fatally Stabbing a Woman in Fairfax County, Virginia," Department of Homeland Security, August 20, 2026.
- "Half of Fairfax County Homicide Suspects in 2026 Are in the U.S. Illegally," Fox 5 DC, August 19, 2026.