Virginia’s Sanctuary Policies Just Got a Toddler Killed

A two-year-old girl is dead. Her killer, Raul Genesis Ortiz Moran, is a Mexican national who should never have been in this country. And Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger owns a piece of this tragedy whether she wants to admit it or not.

The Department of Homeland Security isn’t mincing words. They’re calling Virginia a “hotbed” for illegal immigrant violence, and they’re pointing fingers directly at Spanberger’s day one decision to rescind the 287(g) agreement that former Governor Glenn Youngkin had established. That agreement allowed Virginia State Police, fish and game wardens, and state corrections officials to work hand in hand with ICE. Spanberger killed it the moment she took office, and now we’re counting the cost in the most horrific way imaginable.

Here’s what happened in Louisa County, that stretch of rural Virginia sitting halfway between Richmond and Charlottesville. Ortiz Moran allegedly sexually assaulted this toddler. The child’s mother, reportedly his girlfriend, rushed the injured little girl to a sheriff’s office in neighboring Goochland County. Deputies tried desperately to save her life. They couldn’t. She died.

But here’s the thing that should make your blood boil. This didn’t have to happen. Assistant DHS Secretary Lauren Bis said it plainly: “This horrific tragedy was completely avoidable because this illegal alien should have never been in our country.” She continued, “Governor Spanberger’s sanctuary policies have made Virginia a hotbed for illegal alien crime.”

You know what’s remarkable? The local law enforcement in these counties did exactly what they should have done. Goochland and Louisa authorities didn’t play political games. They cooperated directly with ICE, and federal agents quickly took Ortiz Moran into custody. Sheriff Donald Lowe from Louisa County told Richmond’s ABC affiliate he was afraid this monster was “going to bolt,” so his office called ICE. That’s common sense policing, the kind that saves lives and catches killers.

Goochland County Sheriff Steve Creasy expressed pride in his deputies who tried to resuscitate that little girl. These are the people doing the hard work, the ones who see the consequences of failed policies up close. They don’t have the luxury of hiding behind press releases and carefully worded statements.

Speaking of carefully worded statements, Spanberger’s spokesperson trotted out the usual talking points. The governor “strongly believes violent criminals who are in the United States illegally should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and deported.” Great. Wonderful. But believing something and creating the infrastructure to make it happen are two different things entirely.

The spokesperson also mentioned that Virginia’s Department of Corrections still notifies ICE when individuals born outside the United States are in state custody, and that state law enforcement continues to participate in task forces with federal agencies. But that’s not the same as the comprehensive cooperation that existed under the 287(g) agreement. Not even close.

This is where ideology crashes into reality with devastating force. Sanctuary policies sound compassionate in theory. They’re marketed as protecting vulnerable communities, preventing racial profiling, all those noble-sounding goals that play well in progressive circles. But when you strip away local law enforcement’s ability to work seamlessly with federal immigration authorities, you create gaps. And dangerous people slip through those gaps.

Ortiz Moran now faces charges of murder and aggravated sexual battery. He’ll get his day in court, which is more than that innocent child got. She’ll never have another birthday. Never learn to ride a bike. Never go to school. Her entire life, snuffed out before it really began, allegedly by someone who had no legal right to be on American soil.

The contrast here is striking. Red counties in Virginia are still cooperating with ICE because they understand their primary duty is protecting their citizens, not scoring political points. Meanwhile, the state’s leadership has decided that federal immigration enforcement is somehow optional, something to be resisted rather than embraced.

Limited government doesn’t mean ineffective government. It means government that focuses on its core responsibilities, and nothing is more fundamental than protecting innocent life. When state officials actively hamper federal law enforcement’s ability to remove dangerous criminals from our communities, they’ve abandoned that responsibility.

Spanberger can claim she strives to protect Virginia’s children all she wants. The evidence suggests otherwise. Actions matter more than words, and her actions dismantled a working system that kept communities safer. Now a family is planning a funeral for a toddler, and a governor is scrambling to defend the indefensible.

This isn’t complicated. Cooperation between local and federal law enforcement works. The swift arrest in this case proves it. But that cooperation only happened because local sheriffs chose to ignore their governor’s sanctuary approach and do what was right. They shouldn’t have to make that choice. The system should support them, not work against them.

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