Karol Escalante, director of Immigrant Community Affairs, Fairfax County
Local, county and state elected officials, organizations, faith-based clergy and others across the United States, including those regionally in Virginia, are bracing for a possible surge in deportations of undocumented immigrants. Could it begin as early as Inauguration Day 2025, Jan. 20, when the incoming president will assume office?
On Sunday, Dec. 8, President-elect Trump said that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would be “starting with the criminals.”
Jeff McKay, chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, said on Dec. 12, “Our Board will respond to anything the Trump Administration does that threatens the safety of our residents. Per my Board Matter of Nov.19, the County is currently exploring all options to defend our most vulnerable residents from potentially harmful initiatives by the Trump Administration, including the promised mass deportations. As I wrote in the Board Matter, while immigration enforcement targeting the small number of dangerous criminals is sensible, indiscriminate and widespread enforcement will, in fact, harm public safety through a reduction in cooperation with local law enforcement. Our Board recently adopted our federal Legislative Program, with new language as a result of the Board Matter that specifically addresses some of the concerns I’ve heard from our community regarding mass, indiscriminate deportations.”
Also on Dec. 12, Trump indicated that he could try to use the military and local law enforcement to carry out deportations, saying, "I will go up to the maximum level of what the law allows." With that, a flurry of responses began across Northern Virginia.
On Dec. 12, Sen. Scott Surovell (D-34), Virginia Senate Majority Leader and attorney, said that the “arrest and deportation of undocumented immigrants is a federal issue.”
Surovell added that "one in four people who live in Fairfax County was born in another country.” Fairfax County's diversity is a strength, he said. “Immigrants move to Fairfax County due to its welcoming nature and the economic opportunities that exist here.”
Calling a locality a “sanctuary” amounts to political name calling. “State and local law enforcement do not play a role in deportation proceedings, are already suffering from major post-pandemic personnel shortages and do not have the bandwidth or even the jurisdiction to enforce federal law," Surovell said. “It is also my understanding that local law enforcement regularly notifies federal immigration authorities if undocumented persons commit violent crimes or serious felonies.”
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced that same day, Dec. 12, his “No Sanctuary Cities” budget proposal. It would require “local law enforcement, sheriffs and jail directors to fully comply with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainers and provide notification to ICE 48 hours prior to the release of an undocumented immigrant who commits a crime.
“Additionally, funding will be withheld from localities that purport to be ‘sanctuary’ cities or enact practices impeding cooperation with ICE.” [Source: Fact Sheet: Governor Glenn Youngkin Calls for No Sanctuary Cities]
“We must stop the cycle of violence and crime that is being enabled by some local governments,” Youngkin wrote. “Virginia is not a sanctuary state, and we must be clear that we will not allow localities to become ‘sanctuary cities.’ If local governments turn their backs on their citizens in order to pander to pro-illegal immigrant groups, we will cut off their funding.”
“The DCJS Director will be required to withhold 599 funding to those localities, and the Compensation Board will be required to withhold state funding to local and regional jails,” Youngkin’s proposal states.
The state legislature would have to approve Youngkin’s proposal.
Fairfax County, we are regularly reminded, is the safest jurisdiction of its size, notwithstanding (or perhaps in part because of) policies or the fact that one-in-four residents were born in another country.
Youngkin’s statement follows an earlier opinion issued by Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares on Sept. 5, 2024, to the Sheriff of Bedford County, who asked whether a sheriff is “prohibited by law from cooperating with federal immigration authorities by notifying United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, after receipt of an ICE-issued detainer related to an inmate into the sheriff’s custody, or the release of that inmate in order for ICE to attain custody of the inmate prior to or upon the release.”
Miyares writes, “It is my opinion that a sheriff is expressly authorized to cooperate with federal officials by providing them prerelease notification as requested by the detainer.”
Supervisor Pat Herrity (R-Springfield) heralded Youngkin’s announcement. “I applaud Governor Glenn Youngkin for his efforts to protect our communities from repeat, violent offenders. … I opposed the Trust Policy from the beginning primarily because of its impact on public safety.”
The trust policy is designed to protect “the safety and security of all immigrant residents,” as noted on the Fairfax County website.
“The Board of Supervisors passed the Trust Policy in 2021 to codify Fairfax County’s commitment to the safety and security of all immigrant residents. The Trust Policy contains specific standards to ensure that employees do not voluntarily cooperate with enforcement of federal immigration laws.” [https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/topics/immigrants-fairfax-county]
Fairfax County commits to protecting the rights of all residents regardless of their immigration or citizenship status, said Karol Escalante, director of Immigrant Community Affairs for Fairfax County. “I also guarantee that everyone has an equitable opportunity to participate in the county’s economic vitality. The trust policy ensures that immigrant residents can access county benefits and services knowing that the information they share will not be disclosed to Federal immigration officials,” said Escalante.
According to the FAIRFAX COUNTY DRAFT RECOMMENDED STRATEGIES AND PRINCIPLES FOR THE 119 CONGRESS DECEMBER 3, 2024:
* Oppose large-scale immigration enforcement actions that increase fear among all immigrants, leading to a reduction in trust and cooperation with localities, hindering law enforcement’s ability to combat crime and keep the community safe, and diverting resources from focusing on the small number of undocumented immigrants who have committed violent crimes. Recognizing the criticality of this issue, the County has adopted the Public Trust and Confidentiality Policy, which increases cooperation and communication between immigrant populations and County agencies (including the Fairfax County Police Department)
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* Oppose actions that would compromise the County’s ability to deliver local government programs and services that benefit or protect the community as a whole.
* Oppose legislation that would mandate local governments to enforce federal immigration laws, especially in the area of law enforcement.
* Oppose legislation or Executive Branch efforts that focus limited immigration enforcement resources on deporting law-abiding immigrants rather than on the small number who have committed violent crimes.
The ACLU of Virginia responded to the Youngkin administration’s statements of Dec. 12. ACLU of Virginia Senior Immigrants’ Rights Attorney Sophia Gregg released the following statement: “The Youngkin administration’s proposal to force Virginia police to do the federal government’s job at Virginians’ expense doesn’t stand a chance in a state with such a long history of valuing immigrants. With more than 1 million immigrants living in the Commonwealth today – more than 75 percent living here for longer than a decade – it's clear that Gov. Youngkin’s proposal is simple fearmongering divorced from the reality of who Virginians are today. “We look forward to working with lawmakers during this year’s legislative session to keep Virginia one of the safest and most economically prosperous states in the country, a welcoming place for immigrants, and a home for us all.”
In response to Governor Youngkin’s budget proposal banning “sanctuary cities” in Virginia, CASA released the following statement from Luis Aguilar, Virginia Director:
“CASA stands firmly against Governor Glenn Youngkin’s harmful budget proposal, which seeks to penalize Virginia cities and counties for fostering trust between the Commonwealth of Virginia and its diverse communities. This plan is misguided, threatening public safety. Having TRUST policies in place means community members, no matter what they look like or what country they are from, can feel safe reporting crimes to police, taking their children to school, and getting treated at a hospital. ... By targeting localities like Richmond and Fairfax, which have chosen to prioritize trust and public safety by not proactively cooperating with ICE, Governor Youngkin’s proposal puts lives at risk. How can we expect anyone, immigrant or otherwise, to reach out to law enforcement in times of need when they fear deportation or discrimination? Trust is the foundation of any safe community.”...
CASA member Nerbir shares, “For many years in Virginia we have fought to pass laws in favor of our immigrant community, such as driver’s licenses in the Commonwealth and the TRUST policy in Fairfax County. However, with this proposal to end those programs, I feel unsafe and afraid knowing that I may be at risk of deportation, and that my family may be separated.”
Diane E. Burkley Alejandro, a member of the Fairfax Virginia People Power Group, said, “Americans clearly want to fix the immigration system. Does that mean they support Trump's plans to use the military to indiscriminately round up immigrants and put them in detention (concentration?) camps, conduct raids on schools, hospitals and churches, separate children from their parents and deport immigrants without the due process the Constitution provides them? We don't think Americans support these actions, but time will tell. What I will say is that these actions are immoral and illegal.”