NEWPORT NEWS, VA – A Homeland Security press release from earlier in May detailed the arrest of a Cuban illegal immigrant with prior convictions of drug trafficking found residing in Virginia, a state that has adopted sanctuary policies in the wake of Democratic Governor Abigail Spanberger taking office earlier in 2026.
On May 4th, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) apprehended Eduardo Perez-Legra, a criminal illegal alien from Cuba, following a final order of removal that was issued back in May of 2012.
According to the agency, Perez-Legra had at one point resided lawfully in the United States, having a green card issued back in 2004, but subsequent felony convictions of drug trafficking and cocaine possession invalidated his status and he was ordered removed.
Perez-Legra had reportedly managed to remain in the country’s interior despite his 2012 removal order as he was released from ICE custody during the Obama administration.
The criminal illegal alien had apparently taken refuge in Virginia since his release from ICE custody over a decade earlier, further benefiting from Governor Spanberger’s executive order issued in her first days in office that restricted local law enforcement from collaborating with ICE.
The six-time convicted felon was reportedly taken into custody during an operation in Newport News, where federal officers reportedly found the criminal illegal alien in possession of “19.5 grams of cocaine, 101 oxycodone pills, 5 fentanyl pills, and 27 individually packaged suboxone sublingual films,” according to the press release.
Homeland Security further detailed numerous instances of criminal illegal aliens being released from custody where immigration detainers were issued in Virginia, with some of the offenders having charges or convictions of sex offenses against children, gang affiliations, possession of CSAM, murder, and other violent offenses.
Acting Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Lauren Bis issued a statement in tandem with the agency’s press release, calling out the Virginia governor by name in an assertion that her policies have enabled criminal illegal aliens to roam the state’s streets with impunity.
“Another day, another criminal illegal alien arrested in Governor Abigail Spanberger’s sanctuary Virginia. This criminal illegal alien from Cuba was previously convicted of drug trafficking. When ICE arrested him on May 4, he was in possession of fentanyl, narcotics, and cocaine. Virginia is a hotbed for criminal illegal alien crime. Criminals flock to sanctuary Virginia because they know Governor Spanberger and her fellow sanctuary politicians will protect them,” Assistant Secretary Bis stated.
Comments