An illegal immigrant from El Salvador was arrested Wednesday in connection with a deadly shooting inside a Reston, Virginia, home, just one day after being released from jail, according to authorities. Police identified the suspect as 23-year-old Marvin Morales-Ortez, who Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed is in the country illegally.
Fairfax County police said Morales-Ortez is accused of shooting a man to death inside the residence, triggering an intense manhunt across the area.
Law enforcement officials ultimately apprehended him after a large-scale search that included drones, K-9 units, and helicopters. The arrest came after authorities warned the public and mobilized significant resources to locate the suspect.
The case has drawn renewed attention to concerns over public safety and the handling of criminal suspects who are in the country illegally.
Morales-Ortez had been released from jail just one day earlier, on Tuesday, after prosecutors dropped charges related to an alleged incident involving brandishing a firearm and assault. By the following day, police allege, he was back on the street and committed a homicide.
Fairfax County police later revealed that they had secured an emergency custody order to detain Morales-Ortez following his release. However, officers were unable to locate him before the order expired. Court records cited by ABC7 show that Morales-Ortez had been charged with at least seven crimes in Fairfax County since 2020, underscoring what critics say are repeated failures to keep dangerous individuals off the streets.
The killing comes at a time of heightened debate in Virginia over whether state and local law enforcement agencies should cooperate with federal immigration authorities. Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat who is set to take office next month, has pledged to rescind Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin’s executive order that requires state agencies to cooperate with ICE.
Spanberger has argued that cooperation with ICE “tears families apart” and diverts law enforcement resources. Her stance puts her at odds with Youngkin, who has made cooperation with federal immigration enforcement a central part of his public safety agenda.
The arrest of Morales-Ortez is unfolding against a backdrop of increased ICE activity in the state. During the first year of President Donald Trump’s second administration, ICE arrests in Virginia have surged. According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, ICE made more than 4,000 arrests in the first half of 2025, a figure that is more than five times higher than the number of arrests during the same period last year.
In July, Governor Youngkin announced that the Virginia Homeland Security Task Force, a federal-state partnership established earlier this year, had arrested 2,512 individuals described as “violent criminals who are illegally in the United States,” according to a press release. The task force was created to enhance coordination between state authorities and federal immigration officials.
The Reston homicide and the circumstances surrounding Morales-Ortez’s release have intensified scrutiny of policies governing criminal suspects, immigration enforcement, and cooperation with federal authorities. As Virginia prepares for a transition in leadership, the case is likely to remain a flashpoint in the ongoing debate over public safety, immigration policy, and the role of state and local governments in enforcing federal law.
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