The Trump administration has deported an illegal immigrant convicted of groping nine girls at the Virginia high school he attended, delivering a fresh reminder of the stakes in the fight over sanctuary jurisdictions that shield criminal illegal aliens from federal authorities.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement removed 19-year-old Israel Flores-Ortiz, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador, sending him back to his home country this week after the Department of Homeland Security took him into custody following his release from a Fairfax County jail. “This groper is GONE,” DHS declared in a post on X, adding, “DHS will never stop fighting to REMOVE sickos like Flores-Ortiz, and make America SAFE again.”
The case is only the latest in a string of controversies involving illegal immigrants in Democrat-led Fairfax County, where sanctuary-style policies have repeatedly clashed with the administration’s aggressive push to remove people who, in the words of one ICE spokesperson, “do not belong in the U.S.”
Flores-Ortiz was convicted in April on nine misdemeanor counts of assault and battery after a wave of Fairfax High School students came forward accusing him of sneaking up behind them in crowded hallways and groping them. Twelve girls ultimately testified against him at trial. He was acquitted on three additional counts, and one more charge was dismissed.
Despite the seriousness of the crimes, Flores-Ortiz was sentenced to just 360 days behind bars and two years of probation — and was released after serving only about nine months, a fraction of the time critics say the offenses warranted. Days before his release, a Justice Department immigration judge had already ordered him removed from the country. He had originally entered the U.S. and been released into the interior during the Biden administration, later enrolling as a junior at Fairfax High School.
ICE arrested Flores-Ortiz on Aug. 31, shortly after his release from custody, and deported him to El Salvador this week. “Under the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Mullin, criminal illegal aliens are not welcome, especially those who harm our American communities,” an ICE spokesperson said.
One parent of a victim told a Washington, D.C.-area ABC affiliate that roughly a dozen students reported encounters with Flores-Ortiz. A ninth-grade victim said after his conviction that the assaults have left her constantly on guard. “Now I have to make sure and look around extra to see who’s around me and make sure that nobody touches me that way again,” she said.
The case has fueled renewed criticism from the administration and its allies over sanctuary policies in Fairfax County, which officials say have made it harder to swiftly remove dangerous criminal aliens before they can harm more victims. With Flores-Ortiz now gone, DHS is touting the outcome as proof its enforcement approach is working — even in jurisdictions resistant to cooperating with federal immigration authorities.
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