DHS Torches ‘Sanctuary Spanberger’ After Deporting ‘Depraved Freak’ Who Abused His Own Daughter

”.

The case, which has reignited debate over sanctuary-style policies in Virginia, underscores the widening rift between federal immigration enforcement and progressive state leadership. According to RedState, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) moved swiftly to remove Vasquez-Reyna from the country after his conviction, while DHS publicly tied his presence in the Commonwealth to Spanberger’s decision to roll back cooperation with federal authorities.

Court records from Albemarle County, Virginia, show that Vasquez-Reyna, a Mexican national, was convicted in March after pleading guilty “to a charge involving a parent violating a child between the ages of 15 and 17.” A local outlet reported that he had been arrested multiple times over allegations that he groped his teenage daughter and attempted to forcibly rape her, leaving the girl in constant fear that he would attack her again.

August 18, 2026

The judge sentenced Vasquez-Reyna to five-and-a-half years in prison, suspending five years of that term and effectively imposing just six months behind bars. That lenient outcome did not sit well with federal authorities, and ICE agents immediately took him into custody following his criminal conviction.

DHS later emphasized that ICE had deported a Mexican national who sexually abused his own teenage daughter in Virginia — and the department “isn't mincing words, calling him a ‘depraved freak’ who has ‘NO sanctuary in our nation.’” Officials stressed that the case illustrates the stakes of immigration enforcement when violent offenders exploit gaps created by local non-cooperation.

“Marcelo Vasquez Reyna pleaded guilty in March to violating his daughter, who was between 15 and 17 at the time of the abuse,” DHS noted, highlighting the severity of the crime. He was also charged with rape and abduction, and, according to the Daily Progress, he repeatedly groped the girl and attempted to rape her using force, causing her to live in fear of new attacks.

The controversy comes as Gov. Spanberger faces mounting criticism over illegal immigrant crime and her administration’s posture toward federal immigration enforcement. On her first day in office, Spanberger rescinded her Republican predecessor’s order directing state and local law enforcement to assist ICE and simultaneously terminated all 287(g) agreements that had enabled closer cooperation with federal agents.

After ICE removed Vasquez-Reyna to Mexico, DHS seized on the moment to spotlight what it described as the sanctuary-style policies now in place in Virginia. By dismantling the previous framework of cooperation between state law enforcement agencies and ICE, Spanberger “effectively [made] Virginia a sanctuary state,” critics argue, signaling to illegal immigrants that the Commonwealth is a safer jurisdiction for those seeking to evade federal scrutiny.

DHS did not temper its language when it publicly tagged Spanberger in a blistering social media post. The department declared, “This depraved freak who sexually abused his OWN DAUGHTER is yet another illegal alien who flocked to Sanctuary Spanberger’s Commonwealth of Criminals. Virginia continues to be a HAVEN for criminals like this who know that @GovernorVA and Virginia sanctuary politicians will try to shield them from justice.”

The message was punctuated with a stark declaration: “NO SANCTUARY FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS.” DHS reiterated, “This depraved freak who sexually abused his OWN DAUGHTER is yet another illegal alien who flocked to Sanctuary Spanberger’s Commonwealth of Criminals. Virginia continues to be a HAVEN for criminals like this who know that @GovernorVA and Virginia sanctuary politicians will try to shield them from justice.”

In a further show of support for front-line agents, DHS praised federal officers who stepped in where state policy had pulled back. “The heroic men and women of ICE will continue to hunt down, arrest, and REMOVE illegal aliens like this monster from Virginia communities,” the department vowed, framing ICE as the last line of defense for vulnerable residents when local politicians choose ideology over enforcement.

While Spanberger has worked aggressively to distance Virginia law enforcement from ICE, the men and women of ICE are doing the dangerous work of removing predators like Vasquez-Reyna from Virginia communities. That effort makes everyone safer, a basic public-safety priority that Spanberger and her fellow Democrats appear unwilling to prioritize when it conflicts with their broader pro-sanctuary agenda.

Virginia’s governor may bristle at the branding of “Sanctuary Spanberger’s Commonwealth of Criminals,” but DHS’s language reflects a growing frustration among conservatives with policies that weaken cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Cases involving a “freak” like Vasquez-Reyna are precisely why that label is likely to cling to her administration, as voters weigh whether progressive immigration posturing is worth the cost in public safety and justice for victims.