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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is targeting an illegal alien who is charged with strangling his infant sister with a power cord, leaving the baby in critical condition.
In a statement Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security announced it had lodged a detainer against Alvaro Mejia-Ayala, a 21-year-old Salvadoran national, after he was arrested for strangulation of an infant by police in Leesburg, Virginia.
According to the Leesburg Police Department, police responded to a report of an infant not breathing on the morning of Sept. 17. The department said it discovered the baby had been the victim of an assault and that Mejia-Ayala had fled on foot.
Local Fox affiliate Fox 5 reported that the infant was found unresponsive with a white charging cable around her neck.
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With the assistance of the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, the department tracked down Mejia-Ayala. He is now in custody and is being charged with strangulation.
According to DHS, the baby is in critical condition.
A spokesperson for the agency told Fox News Digital that Mejia-Ayala entered the U.S. as part of a family unit from El Salvador during the Obama administration in 2016. The spokesperson said that on Oct. 17, 2024, the Biden administration dismissed Mejia-Ayala’s immigration case, allowing him to illegally remain in the U.S. indefinitely.
DHS also said that Mejia-Ayala was previously arrested by police for reckless driving in 2024, but he was released “before ICE could even lodge a detainer.”
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The Virginia General District Court online database says that Mejia-Ayala pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of reckless driving in February 2024. The database also lists several other charges against Mejia-Ayala, including driving without a license in 2023 and failure to display license plates in 2024 and 2025.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin commented on the case, saying that “ICE lodged an immigration detainer to ensure this heinous criminal is not released on U.S. streets.”
“What kind of sick monster strangles a defenseless, innocent baby girl with a charging cord? This barbarism has no place in the U.S.,” said McLaughlin. “President Trump and Secretary Noem have been clear: Criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the United States.”
In a separate message posted to X, McLaughlin wrote, “Pray for this precious baby girl. May God cover her and protect her.”
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In another X post, Homeland Security called Mejia-Ayala a “monster” and the case an example of “PURE EVIL.”
“This criminal illegal alien STRANGLED AN INFANT with a charging cable,” DHS wrote, adding, “President Trump and @Sec_Noem will not allow this barbarism in America.”
A spokesperson for Biden declined to comment. Fox News Digital also reached out to Obama spokespeople but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
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