Fairfax County and hundreds of other localities across the country were labeled “sanctuary jurisdictions” last week by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for limiting their cooperation with federal immigration officials.
The department accused the localities on the list — which was published on its website last Thursday (May 29) before apparently being removed over the weekend — of obstructing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from enforcing federal immigration laws, stating that they will all receive formal notices of non-compliance.
“DHS demands that these jurisdictions immediately review and revise their policies to align with Federal immigration laws and renew their obligation to protect American citizens, not dangerous illegal aliens,” DHS said on its website.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem claimed in a press release that policies limiting cooperation with ICE “are endangering Americans and our law enforcement,” but Fairfax County officials and advocates for immigrant rights have argued that they, in fact, improve public safety by reassuring community members that they can call 911 and use other public services without risking detention or deportation.
Tasking local law enforcement with enforcing federal immigration laws would undermine their efforts to build trust with the community, Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay said in a statement responding to Fairfax County’s inclusion on the DHS list.
“Immigration enforcement falls squarely within the authority of the federal government, and Fairfax County fully complies with all applicable federal and state laws, regulations and court orders,” McKay said.
“Our police officers work tirelessly across our community,” he continued. “Their success depends on building trust with all residents, regardless of immigration status. When individuals are afraid to talk to the police — whether as witnesses or victims of crimes — justice suffers. Crimes go unsolved, and community safety is compromised.”
As of Friday (May 30), Fairfax County hasn’t been formally notified of its inclusion on the “sanctuary jurisdictions” list, which was compiled without communicating clear criteria or consulting with local law enforcement or governments, according to McKay.
DHS said only that the list, which stems from an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on April 28, is based on “factors like compliance with federal law enforcement, information restrictions, and legal protections for illegal aliens.”
Federal pressure follows challenges by Youngkin
The Board of Supervisors adopted a “Trust Policy” in 2021 that prohibits county employees from seeking or disclosing information about a person’s citizenship status unless required by state or federal law, a judicial warrant, or a court order.
The Fairfax County Police Department directs its officers to follow the Trust Policy, and the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office says it will hold someone whose arrest is authorized by a court-ordered warrant, but not solely based on the civil administrative detainers usually submitted by ICE.
Since terminating a voluntary agreement with ICE in 2018, where it agreed to keep people past their scheduled release date, the sheriff’s office has received 2,628 administrative requests from ICE, averaging 31 per month, as of the end of this past April, according to data provided to FFXnow. Over that same time, it received a total of 31 judicial warrants.
Citing criminal cases involving non-U.S. citizens, such as an alleged rape that occurred in the Town of Herndon last year, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has sought to pressure Fairfax County and other local governments into collaborating with ICE — first by suggesting they could lose funding, and then directing them to sign certifications “confirming their full cooperation with ICE.”
Kathryn Pavluchuk, a general counsel for the sheriff’s office, told FFXnow in May that the office had been talking to Virginia Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security Terrance Cole’s office about setting up a meeting between him and Sheriff Stacey Kincaid to discuss Youngkin’s Feb. 27 directive.
“Unfortunately, we have not found a time that works for both the Sheriff and the Secretary,” she said.
As of May 9, the sheriff’s office hadn’t received any requests for assistance from the Virginia State Police task force that Youngkin ordered be created to assist ICE, Pavluchuk said.
In his statement, McKay expressed support for Kincaid’s policies, noting that ICE is automatically notified whenever someone with a criminal detainer is booked into the Fairfax County Adult Detention.
“If ICE determines that the individual poses a threat to public safety, they are able to take custody of that person upon completion of their sentence,” McKay said. “The Sheriff’s Office does not and should not hold anyone beyond their court-ordered release date. This separation between local law enforcement and federal immigration enforcement is not just a policy — it is a proven strategy that helps keep our community safe.”
Immigrant advocates maintain support for local policies
In his executive order, Trump directed federal agencies to suspend or terminate federal grant or contract funding for localities and states on the “sanctuary jurisdictions” list and asserted that his administration will use any “legal remedies and enforcement measures” necessary to achieve compliance.
National and local immigrant advocacy groups quickly condemned the DHS list and Trump’s executive order as attempts to intimidate cities and states into assisting with his desired mass deportations, the majority of which so far have targeted individuals with no criminal charges or convictions.
“Our cities and counties are doing what’s right: building safe, inclusive communities where people aren’t afraid to call 911 or send their kids to school. This executive order attempts to dismantle that,” CASA Executive Director Gustavo Torres said in a statement. “CASA stands firmly with every jurisdiction that chooses compassion and dignity over cruelty and chaos. We urge elected officials at every level to reject this harmful order and continue protecting all residents, regardless of immigration status.”
Another supporter of Fairfax County’s Trust Policy, ACLU People Power Fairfax, told FFXnow that the “sanctuary jurisdictions” list “borders on the absurd.”
“Fairfax has the strongest non-cooperation policy in Virginia but it makes clear that it cooperates with ICE when required to do so,” lead advocate Diane Burkley Alejandro said. “That includes when ordered by a judicial warrant. And immigrants like other residents are subject to prosecution for violations of criminal law. What DHS is trying to do is force localities to do its work for it.”
According to Burkley Alejandro, the federal government is prohibited by the Constitution’s Tenth Amendment from forcing states to help administer federal regulations, though a federal law adopted in 1996 gave ICE the authority to partner with local and state law enforcement on a voluntary basis.
The number of agreements under the 287(g) program “has skyrocketed” since Trump took office in January for his second presidential term, the Associated Press reported.
According to the AP, ICE has about 6,000 law enforcement officers — a number that has remained largely static for years — who are authorized to find, arrest and remove undocumented immigrants. By relying on local law enforcement, it can quickly scale up the number of staff available to help carry out Trump’s mass deportations agenda.
More than 500 localities are featured on the “sanctuary jurisdictions” list, including Fairfax’s neighbors of Arlington County and Alexandria.
