FREDERICKSBURG, VA — A man federal immigration authorities say was deported from the United States six times between 2012 and 2024 is being held without bond on an illegal reentry charge after investigators connected him to an arrest in Fredericksburg, according to federal court records.
Wilfredo Portillo Saravia, a citizen of El Salvador who has listed addresses in Manassas and Haymarket, was arrested by federal authorities Oct. 15. Virginia court records show he previously faced several assault and battery charges in Prince William County, including a case dismissed the same day as his federal arrest.
Federal prosecutors charged Portillo Saravia with illegal reentry after removal in a criminal complaint filed Oct. 1 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. The investigation began after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement learned on Feb. 28, 2025, that he had been detained by Fredericksburg police on two counts of failure to appear in court.
Records from Prince William County Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court show Portillo Saravia was charged with two counts of assault and battery against a family member stemming from an alleged April 1, 2023, incident.
Both misdemeanor cases were filed Aug. 14, 2023, and court records list March 23, 2024, as the arrest date.
The cases continued through several hearings before prosecutors dropped both charges July 17, 2025. The dispositions were recorded as nolle prosequi, meaning prosecutors elected not to pursue the charges.
A separate failure-to-appear charge stemming from March 28, 2024, was also dropped July 17, 2025, according to court records. That case listed Jan. 25, 2025, as the arrest date.
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A related bond appeal was filed in Prince William County Circuit Court on March 6, 2025. A judge granted bond the following day, and the matter was remanded, according to the court docket.
Portillo Saravia subsequently faced another misdemeanor family assault and battery charge stemming from an alleged Sept. 3, 2025, incident.
That case was filed Dec. 15, 2025, following his Dec. 12 arrest. The charge was later amended to misdemeanor assault and battery.
Court records show Portillo Saravia entered a no-contest plea May 6, 2026, and the case was continued under a deferred disposition.
On Oct. 15, the Prince William County court dismissed the charge. The docket shows $106 in court costs, which were paid Sept. 1.
The dismissal occurred the same day Portillo Saravia was arrested by federal authorities in Manassas. The available records do not establish whether the timing of the two events was related.
According to an affidavit filed by an ICE deportation officer, federal immigration records show Portillo Saravia was removed from the United States six times:
The deportation officer reviewed Portillo Saravia's immigration file, which contained six executed removal warrants bearing his photograph and signature. Five also contained fingerprint samples.
Investigators obtained a fingerprint card and booking photograph associated with his February 2025 detention in Fredericksburg.
On July 3, 2026, the deportation officer requested that the ICE Homeland Security Investigations Forensic Laboratory compare fingerprints collected during the Fredericksburg detention with fingerprints from Portillo Saravia's April 2024 removal.
The laboratory confirmed a match July 15, according to the affidavit.
Federal investigators also determined that Portillo Saravia had no immigration status or authorization allowing him to legally enter or remain in the United States following his previous removals.
According to the deportation officer, immigration records contained no evidence that Portillo Saravia had received permission from the U.S. attorney general or the secretary of homeland security to reenter the country.
U.S. Magistrate Judge William B. Porter issued a federal arrest warrant Oct. 1, charging Portillo Saravia with illegal reentry after removal under Title 8, Section 1326(a), of the U.S. Code.
The warrant was executed Oct. 15 in Manassas, according to court records.
Portillo Saravia appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge William E. Fitzpatrick in Alexandria that day. Federal prosecutors requested detention, and the judge ordered him temporarily held pending another hearing.
At an Oct. 20 hearing, Portillo Saravia waived his preliminary hearing, and the court found probable cause to proceed with the case.
Federal prosecutors again requested detention, while his attorney argued for release on bond with conditions.
Fitzpatrick denied the request and ordered Portillo Saravia held in U.S. Marshals Service custody without bond pending trial.
Todd M. Richman, an attorney with the Office of the Federal Public Defender in Alexandria, represents Portillo Saravia.
A pre-indictment plea hearing is scheduled for Nov. 10 at 9 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema in Alexandria.
As of Oct. 30, the federal docket listed the illegal reentry complaint but no indictment or disposition of the charge.
Portillo Saravia is presumed innocent of the federal charge unless and until proven guilty.
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