The Trump administration has released a new list of localities and states it considers “sanctuary jurisdictions,” and Fairfax County is no longer on it.
The Justice Department identified some three dozen states, cities and counties as so-called sanctuary jurisdictions on Tuesday (Aug. 5), two months after the federal government quietly removed a much longer list that included many localities that support the Trump administration’s hard-line immigration policies.
Facing funding threats at both the state and federal levels, Fairfax County leaders have publicly maintained confidence in their policies banning voluntary cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
As President Donald Trump’s administration began ramping up ICE activities to support his campaign threats of mass deportations, however, the Fairfax County Police Department quietly revised its policy governing officer interactions with immigrants.
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.
More than a dozen international students at George Mason University have recently had their visas terminated or revoked by the federal government, the university says.
The U.S. departments of state and homeland security apparently changed the statuses of 15 students without any involvement by or prior notice to university officials, GMU President Gregory Washington and Vice President for University Life Rose Pascarell told the community yesterday (Tuesday).
In response to reports of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) targeting international students on college campuses, George Mason University (GMU) faculty are calling on the school to step up its protection of students, teachers and staff.
The George Mason University chapter of the American Association of University Presidents (GMU-AAUP) delivered a resolution signed by 228 members of the school community to the university’s administration on March 31.
After seeking to pressure localities to work with federal immigration authorities by proposing to withhold funding, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin is now directly ordering state police and local jails to cooperate.
Youngkin signed an executive order last Thursday (Feb. 27) directing the Virginia State Police to sign an agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that would create a task force with deputized troopers who can help identify and arrest undocumented individuals “who pose a risk to public safety.”
The Town of Herndon Police Department (HPD) hopes to quash rumors that it has been collaborating with federal immigration agents on raids.
Claims that local police have participated in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids began cropping up in phone calls to the police department a few weeks ago and have now emerged in social media posts, particularly on TikTok, according to HPD spokesperson Lisa Herndon.
Undocumented immigrants in Fairfax County and elsewhere in Virginia could face threats on two fronts in the new year, with both national and state elected leaders proposing policies targeting that population.
As incoming president Donald Trump plans mass deportations, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin unveiled a budget proposal this week that would require local governments to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and withhold funding from those with cooperation-limiting policies, including Fairfax County.
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares issued an apparent challenge last week to Fairfax County and other localities over their policies on cooperating with federal immigration authorities.
In a response to an inquiry from Bedford County Sheriff Michael Miller, Miyares released an opinion last Thursday (Sept. 5) confirming that local sheriffs have the authority to notify Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) when someone wanted for deportation proceedings is scheduled to be released.
A Springfield man has been sentenced to five years in prison for receiving child pornography and assaulting a federal immigration officer.
Jhoan Esau Lemus Ramos, 23, was sentenced by a federal judge yesterday (Thursday) after he pleaded guilty to both charges, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia announced.
