U.S. immigration officers arrested a woman wanted in El Salvador for aggravated homicide and linked to the violent MS-13 gang, immigration officials said Wednesday, highlighting her as an example of what they call one of the media’s “non-criminals.”
Idalia Isabel Morales-Mejia, who entered the U.S. illegally, was taken into custody April 22 in Woodbridge, VA, authorities announced. She faces charges of aggravated homicide and illicit associations in El Salvador dating back to October 2013.
Meet Idalia Isabel Morales-Mejia, an illegal alien and an associate of MS-13.
According to the fake news media and Democrats, Idalia is a "non-criminal" and shouldn’t be deported because she has no record in the United States.
However, she's wanted in El Salvador for HOMICIDE.… pic.twitter.com/bFPsXOjz68
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) April 24, 2026
“Idalia Isabel Morales-Mejia is not only a known associate of the notorious MS-13 transnational criminal organization, but she apparently attempted to flee justice in her native country by illegally residing in Virginia,” ICE Washington, D.C. Field Office Director Robert Guadian said in a statement.
“The media would consider her to be a ‘non-criminal’ because she has no known criminal history in the United States — despite the fact that she is facing charges for aggravated homicide in El Salvador. ICE Washington, D.C. will continue to prioritize public safety by arresting and removing criminal alien offenders from our Washington, D.C. and Virginia communities.”
Officials said El Salvador’s Security Alliance for Fugitive Enforcement Task Force provided updated information in February about her possible location in Northern Virginia. ICE officers located and arrested her in Woodbridge. She was served a notice to appear before an immigration judge and remains in custody pending removal proceedings.
The arrest comes weeks after ICE Washington detained another Salvadoran man, Marco Tulio Lopez-Romero, 44, on March 31. He also fled to the United States illegally while facing aggravated homicide charges in El Salvador.
ICE described Morales-Mejia as a documented MS-13 associate who entered the country illegally at an unknown date and location without inspection. The agency has increased focus on individuals with serious foreign criminal warrants and gang ties as part of its public safety mission.
