immigration

Countywide

At Chantilly ICE office, protestors keep a spotlight on the agency’s treatment of immigrants

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
A group of people gathers outside the ICE facility in Chantilly on May 31, 2026 (staff photo by Mary Stachyra Lopez)

About 30 people gathered at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Chantilly on Sunday (May 31) to protest the expansion of immigration detentions in the U.S. and to show support for those detained inside the building.

Holding American flags and homemade signs, the group outside ICE’s Washington Field Office at 14797 Murdock Street read aloud a list of people who had died in ICE custody, then sang “No están solos” (Spanish for “they are not alone”), followed by refrains of “none of us are free until all of us are free,” and “together we will abolish ICE.”

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UPDATED: Pregnant asylum seeker who was detained at Dulles will return to Ghana

By Charlotte Rene Woods / Virginia Mercury
Dulles Airport main terminal (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

After 10 days spent detained at Dulles International Airport, Ghanaian asylum seeker Anabella Gyasi and her son will go back to her home country. A judge with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ordered Friday that the pregnant woman cannot stay in the airport any longer.

“For the reasons stated from the bench, the Court finds that the welfare of the petitioners and the interests of justice are best served by allowing petitioners to return home immediately,” Judge Leonie M. Brinkema wrote after an emergency hearing the morning of May 29 in Alexandria.

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Countywide

JUST IN: Spanberger signs one bill to rein in ICE, vetoes another

By Angela Woolsey
Scenes from a Jan. 11, 2026 ICE Out for Good protest on Maple Avenue in Vienna (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger has taken a mixed approach to bills from Fairfax state Sen. Saddam Azlan Salim (D-37) intended to counter the Trump administration’s draconian approach to immigration enforcement.

The governor announced today (Wednesday) that she has signed SB 352 and its House of Delegates companion HB 1482, which ban law enforcement officers from covering their faces, while vetoing legislation (SB 351 and HB 650) that would restrict federal immigration agents from conducting civil arrests in certain public places, including courthouses, schools and health care facilities.

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Countywide

Fairfax County prosecutor, sheriff defend immigration policies before Congress

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Steve Descano testifies during a congressional hearing May 14. (Screenshot via YouTube)

Republican lawmakers accused Fairfax County’s top prosecutor and sheriff of being soft on crime and endangering lives due to policies limiting cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement — a charge both denied during a tense congressional hearing yesterday (Thursday).

Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano and Sheriff Stacey Kincaid testified that they do not provide preferential treatment to immigrants, as congressional Republicans repeatedly alleged throughout the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement hearing.

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Countywide

DOJ investigation part of ‘pattern’ of partisan attacks, Fairfax prosecutor’s office says

By Angela Woolsey and Associated Press
Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Steve Descano (staff photo by Jared Serre)

The Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office isn’t backing down on its policy guidance for cases involving undocumented immigrants as defendants.

A day after the U.S. Department of Justice announced it’s investigating the policy for potential civil rights violations, a spokesperson for the prosecutors’ office criticized the probe as “the latest example of the Trump Administration’s own ‘pattern or practice’ of misusing the Justice Department to launch partisan attacks.”

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Countywide

Fairfax senator decries ‘toothless’ amendments to bills restricting ICE activities

By Emily Leayman
Sen. Saddam Azlan Salim (photo via Senator's Office)

Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) has recommended changes to bills on immigration enforcement from a Fairfax County state senator.

State Sen. Saddam Azlan Salim (D-37) had introduced Senate versions of the bills to restrict federal immigration enforcement in certain places, prevent law enforcement from wearing masks and ban state and local law enforcement agreements with federal immigration enforcement.

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UPDATED: FCPS to investigate Fairfax HS groping allegations, as more victims emerge

By Jared Serre
Fairfax County Schools Superintendent Michelle Reid (staff photo by Jared Serre)

Fairfax County Public Schools is planning its own investigation separate from the police into allegations that a Fairfax High School student groped multiple female students, Superintendent Michelle Reid announced.

In a letter sent on Monday (March 23) to families, Reid said that FCPS had retained the services of “an independent outside law firm to conduct a comprehensive review of this matter.”

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Countywide

Herrity request to review ‘Trust Policy’ dismissed by rest of Fairfax County board

By Jared Serre
Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity (staff photo by Jared Serre)

Despite the pleas of one local lawmaker, Fairfax County officials will not revisit their Trust Policy restricting information sharing with federal immigration enforcement agencies anytime soon.

Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity proposed revisiting the policy at today’s meeting of the Board of Supervisors, but the suggestion was rejected without discussion by the other nine members — all Democrats.

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Countywide

Fairfax senator confident that bills to ‘end ICE abuses’ will become law

By Jared Serre
The Virginia State Capitol building (file photo)

With less than two weeks left in the Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session, three bills authored by a Fairfax state senator that would “end ICE abuses” still have a chance to become law.

Each of the bills introduced by state Sen. Saddam Azlan Salim (D), which would place state-level restrictions on federal immigration enforcement activities, await action by the House of Delegates at large before potentially heading to the governor’s desk.

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Interfaith vigil for Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Reston inspires mourning, calls for action

By Jared Serre and Angela Woolsey
Rep. James Walkinshaw speaks during a vigil held in Reston (via United Christian Parish/YouTube)

A capacity crowd filled a church in Reston yesterday (Thursday) to remember two U.S. citizens recently shot and killed by federal immigration officers in Minnesota.

Rep. James Walkinshaw, who helped organize the vigil, was joined by local religious and human rights leaders at United Christian Parish to commemorate the lives of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, along with others who have recently died in the custody of or during encounters with federal immigration agencies.

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