ICE arrests Salvadoran gang member in Northern Virginia

STERLING, Va. - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement say they have apprehended a Salvadoran national and ‘documented member of the 18th Street Gang’ last month. 

What we know:

ICE officials say they arrested Walter Bladimir Lopez-Ayala in Sterling, Virginia on February 20. According to ICE, Lopez-Ayala illegally reentered the United States after being arrested at the U.S. Border near Rio Grande Valley in 2016 and ordered removed from the United States to El Salvador in 2020. 

Officials say Lopez-Ayala reentered the U.S. at an unknown date, and committed several crimes including public intoxication and traffic violations between May 2023 and January 2025. 

What they're saying:

"Walter Bladimir Lopez-Ayala is exactly the kind of individual that ICE works to arrest and remove," said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Washington, D.C. Field Office Director Russell Hott in a statement. "A documented member of a notorious criminal gang, Mr. Lopez has no benevolent reason for being in the country and represents a threat to the residents of our Northern Virginia communities. ICE Washington, D.C., will continue to prioritize public safety by apprehending and removing criminal aliens from our neighborhoods."