Tipsheet

The Real Life Consequences of 'Sanctuary' Policies: Fairfax County Edition

Mia Cathell
Mia Cathell  |  January 11, 2024 1:00 PM

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested an illegal alien currently facing a slew of child sex crimes, months after a de facto "sanctuary city" in northern Virginia freed the alleged pedophile in defiance of ICE's detainment request.

Last week, Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO)'s Mobile Criminal Apprehension Team in Washington, D.C., finally nabbed a 21-year-old Honduran national accused of sexually abusing a Virginia minor and producing child pornography, ICE announced. During the Jan. 4 arrest at his Springfield residence, the suspect allegedly assaulted a deportation officer.

According to an ICE press release, the Honduran national had unlawfully entered the United States on an unknown date at an unknown location without being inspected, admitted, or paroled by an immigration official. U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) apprehended him in January 2020 near Clint, Texas, as an "unaccompanied juvenile." He was issued a notice to appear before a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) immigration judge and deemed "inadmissible" pursuant to the Immigration and Nationality Act. 

The next day, the illegal alien was transferred to the custody of the Office of Refugee and Resettlement and placed at the Children's Home of Kingston in New York before being handed over to his father in Alexandria, Virginia, the following month.

In July 2023, the Fairfax County Sheriff's Office charged the illegal immigrant with "carnal knowledge of a child between the ages of 13 and 14 without force," possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), and production of CSAM. Later that day, the Pacific Enforcement Response Center—ICE's dispatch hub that relays pertinent information regarding high-risk criminal aliens—lodged a detainer against the suspect with the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center. However, Fairfax County authorities refused to honor ICE's detainer and released the suspected child-sexual predator without notifying ERO Washington beforehand.

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Over half a year later, the illegal alien, whom ICE has not identified by name, was captured at his home as a result of "targeted enforcement action." A scuffle ensured, and the violent suspect attacked an arresting agent with a closed fist, ICE reported.

The illegal was given a notice of custody determination and will remain in ERO's custody pending legal proceedings. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia was also contacted to prosecute the suspect for assaulting an officer.

"When ICE detainers are ignored by local authorities, the public is put at risk; unfortunately, this time the result was the unnecessary injury of a federal law enforcement officer..." ERO Washington Field Office's acting deputy director Erik Weiss said.

As the Center for Immigration Studies aptly explains: "A detainer is the primary tool used by ICE to gain custody of criminal aliens for deportation. It is a notice to another law enforcement agency that ICE intends to assume custody of an alien and includes information on the alien's previous criminal history, immigration violations, and potential threat to public safety or security."

Acting additionally as a request for advance notification of the subject's release, the detainer also asks that the agency maintain confinement of the inmate for a brief time so that ICE can take over without having to hunt down the at-large illegal alien.

A "sanctuary" city or county typically willfully defies ICE detainers, actively obstructs federal immigration enforcement, and puts deportable criminals back out on the streets, giving them the chance to commit more crimes in the community and beyond.

The official Fairfax County government website featuring "resources" for "Our Immigrant Neighbors" says it's "welcoming to all" and believes in "protecting those who are most vulnerable." The site includes hotlines if you're detained by ICE in the DMV area.

Although the Democrat-led Board of Supervisors has not officially designated Fairfax County as a "sanctuary" jurisdiction, in practice, the county has essentially established itself as one among the illegal-alien population. Fairfax County, which forms the surrounding suburbs of the nation's capital, has enacted several "sanctuary" policies shielding illegals from possible deportation.

In 2018, Fairfax County terminated an Intergovernmental Service Agreement it had with ICE. A letter from the Fairfax County Sheriff's Office informed ICE that they would no longer honor any of ICE's administrative detention requests to detain subjects past their release date "unless there is a corresponding lawfully issued criminal detainer," meaning a court-approved warrant. 

This despite federal immigration officers having the authority, vested by Congress, to arrest aliens at their own discretion.

An investigation by the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) found that between May 2018 and May 2020, Fairfax County refused more than 900 requests from ICE, a.k.a. warrants of removals, to hold criminal illegals for potential deportation. IRLI asked the Fairfax County Sheriff's Office how many of these warrants fit their definition of a "lawfully issued criminal detainer." To which, they reportedly replied that only 14 warrants were issued during this two-year period, leaving hundreds effectively denied.

Fairfax County has since reinforced its "sanctuary" agenda. In 2020, the county unveiled a general order that would further bar inter-agency cooperation between Fairfax County Police Department officers and ICE officials. Additionally, the directive banned local cops from complying with ICE warrants as well as prohibited ICE agents from accessing Fairfax County police buildings. 


"Officers may not participate in, or facilitate, the enforcement of federal civil statutes (i.e. immigration laws),” the police order directed. Failure to follow the directive would warrant disciplinary action up to and including termination from the police force.

The new rules stemmed from a 2019 incident in which Fairfax County suspended an officer for detaining an illegal immigrant, who was driving without a license, at the scene of a crash so that he could be picked up by ICE. During the traffic stop, the cop discovered that the driver was wanted for failing to appear at his deportation hearing and promptly alerted ICE of the violation.

Fairfax County's police chief Ed Roessler said the officer's "unacceptable" actions "deprived a person of their freedom."

"Our county is one of the most diverse counties in the nation and no one should have the perception that FCPD is acting as a civil immigration agent for ICE. This matter damages our reputation," Roessler reacted. ICE then released the illegal and the officer was relieved of his duties while an internal investigation was conducted. (Following backlash, the cop was reinstated.)

In December, ICE caught an MS-13 gang member convicted of killing a Maryland resident nearly five years after local law enforcement in Prince George's County, a nearby "sanctuary" jurisidiction, let the convict go despite the ICE detainer in place.

ICE previously lambasted Prince George's County for protecting illegal-alien criminals through current "non-cooperation" policies. The county's Department of Corrections issued a memo in 2014 similarly declaring it would not honor ICE detainers unless accompanied by a warrant: "If an ICE Detainer is received for an individual in custody no action is to be taken."