Reston homicide fans DHS-Fairfax County immigration enforcement conflict

By Gene Powell, Staff Writer

A Dec. 17 homicide in Reston has sparked the latest in sharp exchanges between the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Fairfax County officials over the county’s policies on DHS immigration efforts.

Marvin Morales-Ortez, 23, faces charges including second-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of his reported former roommate, Marvin Ernesto Morales, 40, at a home in the 12300 block of Fan Shell Court. DHS has described Morales-Ortez as a “criminal illegal alien” from El Salvador.

Morales-Ortez was arrested following an intense two-hour police search that caused two Reston area schools – Hunters Woods and Dogwood – to go into lockdown. In online statements and news interviews, federal and county officials provided various versions of events surrounding Morales-Ortez’ release from county detention a day before the killing.

The incident fans a long-running conflict involving a 2021 “Public Trust and Confidentiality Policy” adopted by the county Board of Supervisors in response to Trump administration immigration policies. DHS wants the county to honor its request for detention, but the county’s policy requires a judicial warrant.

A DHS press release on Dec. 19 said local officials “have blood on their hands” because the county did not honor a Sept. 14 DHS arrest detainer. The department also said Morales-Ortez had been released Dec. 16 without notifying federal immigration officials. “If Fairfax County would have…honored our detainer, then this tragedy may never have happened,” federal posts said.

Fairfax County Sheriff Stacey Kincaid said in a statement that her office “follows all local, state, and federal laws when determining whether a person is subject to release from the Fairfax ADC (Adult Detention Center).”

Both DHS and Kincaid referred to earlier criminal charges against Morales-Ortez. He had faced “malicious wounding” and “brandishing a firearm” charges in a September incident, as well as charges for "assaulting law enforcement/first responders" stemming from an August 2023 incident, according to ICE. But county prosecutors had decided there was “not sufficient probable cause to proceed,” Kincaid said. The victim reportedly had notified prosecutors that he would not testify in court. Once the court issued an order dismissing his cases, Morales-Ortez was released, the sheriff said.

Kincaid also said, “Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is automatically notified anytime a person is booked into the ADC. To ensure an undocumented person continues to be held, a judicial warrant is required. In this instance, ICE … elected not to seek a judicial warrant.”

A separate county attempt to detain Morales-Ortez shortly after he was released failed when officers could not locate him. The Fairfax County Police Department said in a post on the social media site “X” that the county’s Community Services Board had issued an Emergency Custody Order, which authorizes police to arrest a person determined to be an immediate threat to themselves or others. The order, which provides for mental health evaluation and assistance, is valid for eight hours. A news report said a team of officers could not locate him before the order expired.