Biden Dumped 20,000 Unaccompanied Minors in Virginia
Criminal illegal aliens know sanctuary school districts will protect them.
by Victoria Manning
School districts across the Commonwealth are sanctuaries for illegal aliens. They openly defy Virginia law that requires schools to notify law enforcement when any person enrolling a pupil fails "to present a certified copy of the pupil's birth record." The number of English language learners has skyrocketed in Virginia schools—including nearly half of the student population in two school districts.
Every student in Virginia must provide proof of age by presenting a certified birth certificate upon enrollment in school. Otherwise, they must provide an affidavit explaining the inability to produce the birth record. Those affidavits must be promptly turned over to law enforcement, but it appears districts around the state have chosen not to follow that law.
The Numbers in Virginia Have Exploded
The number of English language learners in each school district is astounding—a statewide increase of more than 25,000 from 2021 to 2024. Even though nearly half of Harrisonburg's students are English language learners, they have provided no reports to law enforcement regarding students not having certified birth certificates. The Migration Policy Institute estimates that 41 percent of babies born in developing countries go unregistered and therefore cannot get a birth certificate.
Data compiled from theVirginia Department of Education
In 2023, the Office of Refugee Resettlement lost track of over 85,000 unaccompanied minors. Out of that group, 70 percent were males ages 15 or older. Many of the so-called minors crossing the border are considered adults in their own nations, and some are hardened criminals. In El Salvador, the term adult is defined as someone who has reached puberty. In Honduras, the age of criminal responsibility is 12.
In June 2024, the Biden administration admitted they do not seek criminal history information on minors under 18.
The Office of Refugee Resettlement reports over 450,000 unaccompanied alien children released into the United States under the Biden administration—including over 20,000 in Virginia alone. This doesn't include those who are trafficked and unaccounted. Those minors that are tracked are turned over to "sponsors." Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) discovered that up to 80 percent of sponsors are in the U.S. illegally and over half are not family members.
How many children could be saved from trafficking and gang violence if schools properly reported to law enforcement as required under Virginia law?
Revealing Open Records Requests
Restoration News made Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to school districts and law enforcement agencies across the state for documents related to notification to law enforcement when a pupil presents an affidavit in lieu of a certified birth record. Only one district, Fauquier, responded affirmatively with documents showing five affidavits submitted to law enforcement from 2022-2025.
Some districts would not cooperate with our FOIA requests—or seemed to disregard the law entirely. Arlington, Fredericksburg, Harrisonburg, Spotsylvania, and Suffolk school districts claim they have no documents related to the request. This indicates they aren't following the law. Fairfax, Richmond, and Williamsburg James City County all falsely claim the documents are exempt from FOIA. Petersburg City failed to respond timely and still haven't sent records. Prince William requested an extension and to date we have not received the information.
What do those districts refusing to cooperate have to hide? The excuse that records are exempt isn't valid since one district provided the records and private student information can be redacted.
Illegal Alien Teen Murderers
In February 2024, Elvis Cruz-Ferrera killed 19-year-old college student Lauryn Ni’Kole Leonard in a horrific car crash in Chesapeake, VA. He smashed into her vehicle on the interstate causing it to overturn.
Cruz-Ferrera was 18 years old when he killed Leonard. He crossed the border illegally in 2016. In 2018 an immigration judge ordered his deportation back to Honduras. Yet he reportedly went to school through the 11th grade in Virginia, and court documents cite a residence in Portsmouth. In 2023, Cruz-Ferrera received traffic citations on two separate occasions for driving without a license and speeding. He was reportedly illegally employed at a Wendy's restaurant.
Police should have notified ICE when they pulled him over in 2023. If Cruz-Ferrera didn't have a certified birth certificate upon school enrollment—a likely proposition—the school district should have alerted the police, who could have turned him over to ICE. If Cruz-Ferrera had been properly deported, Leonard would be alive today.
In January 2025 Cruz-Ferrera received a sentence of only 6 years in jail, with 3 years suspended. Restoration News inquired with ICE to determine if he will be deported and we are awaiting a response.
Numerous reports indicate violent gang members have enrolled in schools in northern Virginia. MS-13 illegal alien gang member Marlyn Medrano-Ortiz, age 18, murdered two people in Sterling, VA on August 28, 2024. While it's not known for sure if Medrano-Ortiz was enrolled in a public school, Loudoun County Sherriff's School Resource Officers are tracking and identifying students with ties to gangs.
If school districts would cooperate with law enforcement and follow the law, criminal illegal aliens could be identified and deported before given the chance to commit more violent acts.
