A Prince William County man facing four felony counts of aggravated sexual battery is now in federal custody after Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents took him into custody. ICE officials identified him as Luis Alfonso Garcia-Jimenez and said he is being held while removal proceedings play out.
Garcia-Jimenez is charged with four counts of aggravated sexual battery in Virginia, according to WJLA. The Prince William County Sheriff's Office arrested him on March 6, 2026, filing the four felony charges that day, the outlet reported. ICE said Garcia-Jimenez entered the United States without being inspected, admitted or paroled by a U.S. immigration official, though the agency did not specify when or where that entry occurred.
ICE Washington, D.C. Field Office Director Robert Guadian described Garcia-Jimenez in starker terms, calling him “a suspected sexual predator who poses a significant threat to the members of our Northern Virginia communities.” Guadian's office also pointed to Garcia-Jimenez's prior record, saying he has convictions for DWI and public order crimes. Per the same WJLA account, that record includes a December 24, 2016, arrest by Manassas police on a DWI charge, which the Prince William General District Court resolved on March 20, 2017, with a conviction, a 30-day prison sentence, and a fine.
What Happens Next in Removal Proceedings
Upon his apprehension, ICE officers entered Garcia-Jimenez into removal proceedings, and the agency said he will receive due process and remain in ICE custody pending the outcome of those proceedings. Virginia law classifies aggravated sexual battery as a felony punishable by one to 20 years in a state correctional facility and a fine of up to $100,000, according to the Code of Virginia. ICE separately describes immigration detainers as requests lodged by federal officers when there is probable cause that a person is removable, according to the agency's own guidance on detainers.
Part of a Broader Enforcement Push
Garcia-Jimenez's arrest lands amid a marked rise in ICE activity across Virginia and Maryland. The Department of Homeland Security said ICE arrested 1,328 people across the two states during the first two weeks of August, an effort DHS branded “Operation Safe Community: Washington, D.C.,” according to NBC4 Washington. DHS said nearly 400 of those arrested had either been convicted of or charged with crimes in the U.S., and the agency separately named a man arrested in Manassas who it said was an alleged MS-13 gang member with convictions for driving while intoxicated, driving on a suspended license and illegal re-entry.
The scale of the broader surge is disputed. The New York Times reported that ICE arrests nationwide hit record highs over the summer, totaling 43,000 in June, more than 49,000 in July and nearly 51,000 in August, and that most people arrested during that stretch had not been charged with or convicted of a crime, according to the New York Times. That contrasts with DHS's own figure that almost 400 of the 1,328 arrested in Maryland and Virginia had criminal convictions or charges.
Courthouse Arrests and Local Pushback
Closer to home, about six people have been taken into ICE custody at the Prince William County courthouse since the Trump administration stepped up enforcement in January, the Prince William Times reported, including at least two arrested inside the Manassas courthouse on a Tuesday in July. Sheriff Glen Hill told the Prince William Times that federal courthouse arrests have occurred since the Obama administration, though he conceded the recent volume is new.
Statistics from Central Virginia ICE detention facilities add further context to the enforcement debate. WRIC reported about 14,687 total bookings between January 20, 2025, and March 10, with more than 70% of those booked never having been convicted of a crime. Fewer than 280 of those detainees had a prior sex-crime conviction, while driving under the influence of alcohol was the most common listed conviction, with 816 bookings, according to WRIC. Average stays ran about 24 days, though some detainees were held as long as 393 days.
A Similar Case in Fairfax County
Garcia-Jimenez's case echoes another recent Northern Virginia arrest. ICE took Oscar Evaristo Nunez into custody on September 15 during a targeted enforcement operation, according to DHS, as reported by Fox News. Nunez had first been arrested on August 27, 2025, on charges involving aggravated sexual battery of children and non-consensual filming of an undressed minor. DHS said ICE lodged a detainer with the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center two days later, but that local authorities did not honor it and released Nunez without notifying the agency. He remains in ICE custody pending immigration proceedings.
Political Clash Over State Cooperation
President Donald Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, has used the enforcement surge to criticize Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger and Maryland Governor Wes Moore, per WJLA's reporting. Homan said ICE continues its surge in Virginia and Maryland, and accused Spanberger of refusing to honor ICE detainers at the state level, stopping state troopers from working with ICE to arrest violent criminals in the country illegally, and effectively ending local 287(g) agreements. “I think she betrayed the taxpayers of Virginia,” Homan said.
