Three illegal aliens arrested in a Virginia child exploitation sting are back on the street after being released on bond, despite federal detainers requesting they be held for deportation — a direct consequence of sanctuary policies that put foreign nationals above the safety of American communities.
The men were among nine suspects nabbed in a Fairfax County sting operation after allegedly traveling to meet minors for sexual encounters, having engaged in sexually explicit online conversations with undercover detectives posing as juveniles. All three are illegal aliens with prior criminal histories in the United States, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
DHS identified the three as Reyben Leono Sanchez Hernandez, 21, of El Salvador; Wilmer Alexander Aguilar Cruz, 28, of El Salvador; and Henry Adalberto Flores Herrera, 39. DHS confirmed all three were previously caught illegally entering the U.S. and released during the Obama administration.
Their criminal records read like a indictment of every politician who championed catch-and-release. Aguilar Cruz was arrested in Prince William County in April 2019 for threatening to bomb or burn and making a threat in writing. ICE arrested him two days later — only for him to be released on bond that August. This July, ICE placed a fresh detainer on him with the Fairfax County Detention Center. Local police released him anyway on a $3,000 secured bond.
Flores Herrera's record includes felony solicitation of prostitution from a minor, sexual exploitation of a minor, and a DUI. ICE lodged a detainer on him July 17. He walked on a $5,000 secured bond. Sanchez Hernandez's history includes allegations of computer solicitation of a child, indecent liberties, proposed sex acts, sodomy, extortion, and threats to burn.
A DHS spokesperson laid the blame squarely on the open-border regime:
