The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office is the first Northern Virginia jail to enter into a special agreement with U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement to give federal agents more time to pick up people who have detainers, but some community groups are pushing back against the new policy.
On Thursday, Democrats and groups supporting the immigrant community protested the sheriff’s decision to take a new step to assist ICE.
“It concerns me because it’s aligning our county and our law enforcement with what’s going on on the national level, and I think it could be very much a slippery slope,” said Democratic Loudoun County Supervisor Juli Briskman.
Sheriff Mike Chapman said the agreement with ICE will improve public safety, but critics fear it will do the opposite, saying it betrays the public trust.
We've got the news you need to know to start your day. Sign up for the First & 4Most morning newsletter — delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up here.
“I think there’s much ado about not a whole lot here, quite frankly,” Chapman said.
Unlike some other Northern Virginia jurisdictions, Loudoun County jail officials always notify ICE when someone with an ICE detainer is about to be released. Under past policy, ICE had to pick up that person on the day of release but often couldn’t make it in time.
“Typically, they would come out for people who have committed the more serious crimes, not something minor,” Chapman said.
Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia news, events and updates
In the last six months of 2024, there were ICE detainers on 245 Loudoun County inmates, but ICE only picked up 99 of them. This year, there have been 80 detainers with 42 picked up.
Under a new memo of agreement signed last week, a small number of jail deputies — about 10-20 — will get special training from ICE and become warrant service officers. It gives them the ability to serve the ICE detainer on the subject. Instead of getting a day or less to show up, ICE will get 48 hours.
“It’s good for us, because if we have to release them and they’re a danger to our community, that only adds to the lack of safety in the community,” Chapman said. “So, we need to make sure we’re doing everything we can to keep our citizens safe, and this will actually help us quite a bit.”
Opponents of the plan say it will make Loudoun County less safe, increasing fear in the immigrant community and leading to a reluctance to report crime.
“We are concerned that this will undermine trust between our community members and police,” said Sandra Benavente of advocacy group Ayuda.
Ryan Ruzic, a former prosecutor who’s now a defense attorney, worries with the longer holding time, ICE will be able to pick up more people, including those involved in minor offenses.
“It makes a huge difference in the number of people that could be affected,” he said. “And when the community understands that, it’ll make a difference in who reaches out to police and who’s too afraid to.”
The online ICE training of the deputies should be completed within a couple of weeks, the sheriff said. Then the new policy will be enforced.
