Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has identified the suspect arrested for the fatal carjacking of a grandmother in Virginia as an illegal immigrant from El Salvador. ICE confirmed that 21-year-old Jose Aguilar-Martinez is the suspect, and a detainer request has been placed on him to transfer custody from local to federal authorities.

Aguilar-Martinez allegedly carjacked 54-year-old Melody Waldecker in Sterling, Virginia, in broad daylight on Sunday. After carjacking her, he reportedly ran her over with her own car, resulting in her death, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office. Waldecker was found dead at the scene, and Aguilar-Martinez was arrested approximately 45 minutes later.

NEW: In statement to @FoxNews, ICE confirms that the suspect arrested for the fatal carjacking of a grandmother in Virginia on Sunday is an illegal alien from El Salvador who entered the U.S. as a “gotaway” at an unknown time & location. ICE has placed a detainer request on him… pic.twitter.com/5kiDKCrBsb

— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) July 30, 2024

Aguilar-Martinez faces a felony carjacking charge and is expected to be charged with additional crimes related to the incident. He is currently held at the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center without bail.

In many “sanctuary cities,” officials often decline to transfer illegal immigrants charged with a crime to ICE when detainer requests are made. However, Loudoun County Sheriff Mike Chapman advocates for honoring detainers, enabling ICE to deport nearly 100 illegal immigrants from Loudoun County in the past two years.

It is unclear when Aguilar-Martinez entered the United States, but he is classified as a “gotaway,” meaning he had not been previously apprehended by Border Patrol.

This incident occurs amidst historically high levels of illegal immigration over the past four years. During the Biden administration, over 8 million illegal immigrants have entered the country, with approximately 1.7 million classified as “gotaways,” according to Customs and Border Protection data.