How will Youngkin determine which localities aren’t complying with ICE?
Dec 13, 2024
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) said he wants to take away state funding from any law enforcement agencies that don’t comply with detainers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). So, what exactly is a detainer?
According to ICE, it’s a “request from ICE that asks a federal, state or local law enforcement agency — including jails, prisons or other confinement facilities — to:
Notify the requesting agency as early as possible before they release a removable noncitizen
Hold the noncitizen for up to an additional 48 hours
ICE said this gives its agents time to take the noncitizen into custody.
ICE documents from June show it considers 14 Virginia jails and prisons “non-cooperative” when it comes to honoring those detainers.
Some of those evaluations appear to be accurate.
For example, ICE lists Fairfax County Jail as non-cooperative and a statement on the county’s website confirms that, saying: “The Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office will not detain an individual based on an informal request or detainer.”
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However, it also appears that the list has some serious flaws.
Take the Dinwiddie County Jail, for instance, which ICE said is non-cooperative. However, the Dinwiddie County Sheriff’s Office told 8News they haven’t had a jail since 2012.
Meanwhile, a separate “fact sheet” circulated by the governor’s office points to “sanctuary city resolutions” in places like Alexandria that could put them at risk of losing funding.
However, Alexandria’s policy doesn’t mention refusing to comply with ICE detainers. Additionally, the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office told 8News it “does honor lawful detainers and warrants from ICE, as we would for any other law enforcement agency.”
8News reached out to Youngkin’s office and asked how he plans to verify which agencies don’t comply with ICE. While we did get a response, it didn’t answer that specific question.