A Guatemalan national who has been deported from the United States three times was sentenced to more than six years in federal prison after being convicted of possessing child sexual abuse material and illegally reentering the country, the Department of Justice announced.
Roni Mendez-Escobar was sentenced last week, according to Breitbart News, following a prosecution that began after authorities searched his electronic devices and found he had “repeatedly viewed, downloaded, and possessed” 46 images and 65 videos containing child sexual abuse material between October 2024 and August 2025.
Law enforcement in Fairfax County, Virginia, arrested Mendez-Escobar in October 2025. Immigration and Customs Enforcement subsequently issued a detainer against him — a request that local officials hold a person for federal immigration agents before release.
Fairfax County Released Him Despite ICE Detainer
According to the account provided by federal officials, Fairfax County released Mendez-Escobar from custody just days after ICE issued the detainer, declining to turn him over to federal immigration authorities. ICE agents then arrested him in April of this year following a court appearance.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin criticized the county’s decision in a statement released alongside the sentencing announcement.
“When ICE lodged a detainer for him after his arrest in October 2025, sanctuary politicians in Fairfax County, Virginia refused to honor it and released him into their community,” Mullin said, per Breitbart. “Fortunately, their attempts to protect this pedophile failed and ICE arrested him several months later.”
Mullin added that once Mendez-Escobar completes his sentence, “ICE will be ready to deport him so he can never threaten another American child.”
The case fits a pattern that federal immigration officials have repeatedly highlighted in disputes with jurisdictions that limit cooperation with ICE detainers — a policy posture often described as “sanctuary” status. Under such policies, local jails generally do not notify federal agents before releasing a person or hold them beyond their scheduled release date for immigration purposes.
Three Prior Deportations
Mendez-Escobar had already been removed from the United States three times, with his most recent deportation occurring in 2015, according to the information released by federal officials. At some point after that removal, he entered the country again illegally and was classified as an “unknown got-away” — a term used for individuals who cross the border without being apprehended.
The prosecution combined two charges: possession of child sexual abuse material and illegal reentry, both of which resulted in convictions. The Justice Department announced the sentence late last week.
The Fairfax County case is not the first instance in which ICE and local officials in Northern Virginia have clashed over detainer compliance. The county has faced criticism from federal immigration authorities in prior cases where individuals were released before ICE could take custody.
Mullin’s statement framed the outcome as both a law enforcement victory and a rebuke of local policies that he argued endangered the public.
“Now he will be behind bars where he belongs,” Mullin said.
The specifics of Mendez-Escobar’s sentence — six years in federal prison — will be followed by removal proceedings upon completion of his term. ICE has indicated it intends to deport him again once he finishes serving his time.
Source: www.breitbart.com — https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/09/21/virginia-three-time-deported-illegal-alien-gets-6-years-prison-child-pornography/