Fairfax County Rejected 615 ICE Transfers in 16 Months as Sanctuary Policy Bars Detainers
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jul 2
Fairfax County Rejected 615 ICE Transfers in 16 Months as Sanctuary Policy Bars Detainers
1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 2
Summary
Records obtained through a FOIA request show Fairfax County declined 615 ICE transfer requests over the past 16 months and turned over just 11 immigrants to federal authorities.
The refusals stem from Fairfax's 2021 Trust Policy, which bars local law enforcement from honoring ICE civil detainers or otherwise assisting federal immigration enforcement.
The sheriff's office rejected 448 transfers in all of 2025 while approving nine, then declined another 167 in the first four months of 2026 and approved two; in April alone, 32 detainees were held and none released to ICE.
The data intensified Republican criticism of Commonwealth's Attorney Steve Descano and Sheriff Stacey Kincaid after a House hearing, with America First Legal tying the policy to repeat-offender cases including the killing of Stephanie Minter.
Descano's office called a related Justice Department probe politically motivated and said its policies are legal and keep Fairfax safe, but the figures are likely to draw further scrutiny from the Trump administration and sanctuary-policy critics.