ICE: Suspect in Vanessa Pham Murder is in U.S. Illegally

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced Friday the man accused of murdering 19-year-old Vanessa Pham is in violation of immigration law.

ICE placed a detainer on suspect Julio Miguel Blanco-Garcia, 27, on Thursday, the day he was arrested and charged with Pham's 2010 murder. They released the following statement on Friday:

"On Dec. 13, the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force, which consists of U.S. Marshals deputies and inspectors, Fairfax County Police detectives and sheriff's deputies and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Washington, DC Fugitive Operations Unit officers arrested Julio Blanco-Garcia, a citizen and national of Guatemala, in Vienna, Va. on a homicide warrant issued out of Fairfax County, Va. ERO officers placed a detainer on Julio Blanco-Garcia after it was determined that he was in violation of U.S. immigration law."

The detainer requires Fairfax County Police to notify ICE before releasing Blanco-Garcia. ICE will then investigate whether he fits the requirements to be removed from the country.

Blanco-Garcia will complete his criminal trial before ICE takes any action, Nicole Navas, ICE public affairs spokesperson said.

The suspect's attorney review is scheduled for 9:20 a.m. Dec. 21. The preliminary trial is set to begin in February. 

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