U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have arrested 21-year-old Guatemalan national Ander Cortez-Mendez—an illegal alien and convicted child rapist—after Fairfax County authorities released him despite a federal detainer request. ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) announced that they apprehended Cortez-Mendez on April 2 in Falls Church, Virginia, nearly two weeks after the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center refused to cooperate with federal immigration officials and released him back into the community. Cortez-Mendez first crossed illegally into the United States near Rio Grande Valley, Texas, in February 2018, where he was immediately flagged by U.S. Border Patrol and issued a notice to appear before a federal immigration judge. Years later, in March 2024, he was arrested again—this time by Fairfax County police for alleged sex crimes involving a minor.