ICE detains Salvadoran charged with strangling infant
Alvaro Mejia-Ayala, a 21-year-old Salvadoran national, was arrested in Leesburg, Virginia, after police say an infant was found unresponsive with a charging cable around her neck on the morning of Sept. 17, 2025. Local authorities charged Mejia-Ayala with strangulation and the infant is in critical condition; the Department of Homeland Security said ICE lodged an immigration detainer, noting his 2016 entry and that his immigration case was dismissed on Oct. 17, 2024. DHS officials publicly condemned the attack, calling it 'PURE EVIL,' and highlighted prior local charges including a Feb. 2024 reckless-driving conviction.
Crime
Immigration
📰 Sources (1)
‘PURE EVIL’: ICE targeting illegal charged with strangling infant
New information:
- Alvaro Mejia-Ayala, 21, arrested in Leesburg, Virginia; charged with strangulation after an infant was found unresponsive on Sept. 17, 2025.
- DHS/ICE lodged an immigration detainer and said Mejia-Ayala entered the U.S. as a family unit in 2016 and that his immigration case was dismissed Oct. 17, 2024.
- The infant remains in critical condition; DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin and DHS social-media posts labeled the case 'PURE EVIL' and urged protection for the child.