Report Exposes Arlington County's Sanctuary Policies Shielding Criminal Aliens

A new interim staff report from the House Judiciary Committee and its Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement reveals the extent of Arlington County's sanctuary policies and their impact on federal immigration enforcement.

The report, titled Arlington County, Virginia: The Dangerous Consequences of Sanctuary Policies, was released on September 21, 2026. It draws on nonpublic documents, data, and testimony to show how local policies obstruct cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Commonwealth's Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti plays a central role in these practices according to the findings. Her office considers immigration status when making prosecutorial decisions even in serious cases.

This approach applies to charges including assault, domestic violence, cases involving child victims, possession of fake identification, and disarming a police officer. Prosecutors in the office are not explicitly prohibited from weighing a defendant's immigration status regardless of crime severity.

Dehghani-Tafti testified that considering immigration status is appropriate in certain situations. Such considerations allow outcomes unavailable to American citizens facing similar charges.

The report further details policies aimed at protecting Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients. In Driving While Intoxicated cases involving DACA recipients, the office fashions resolutions or shifts to lateral charges to prevent loss of protected status.

These practices ensure certain foreign nationals avoid convictions solely due to their immigration status. The report contrasts this with equal treatment under the law.

Arlington County Sheriff's Office data underscores limited cooperation with federal authorities. From January 2025 through May 2026, the office received 310 ICE detainers and honored only two, both accompanied by judicial warrants.

Forty-two of those individuals already had criminal convictions at the time of the detainers. The policy requires a judicial warrant for honoring detainers, which is often unavailable in non-federal cases.

Specific incidents illustrate the consequences of these policies. In one case, a twice-deported individual convicted of assaulting a teenager was released instead of transferred to ICE.

Another individual with a lengthy criminal history was repeatedly released after arrests for assault and other offenses. Dehghani-Tafti declined to prosecute multiple charges in that instance.

The report criticizes these sanctuary measures as giving preferential treatment to criminal aliens. It argues that such policies undermine public safety and the rule of law in northern Virginia.

Dehghani-Tafti has opposed measures like the Laken Riley Act in her testimony. The report notes her characterization of the bipartisan legislation as heinous and unrelated to immigration enforcement.

Overall, the findings portray Arlington County's approach as a deliberate obstruction of federal immigration law. The committee continues oversight of jurisdictions that limit cooperation with ICE.

https://x.com/judiciarygop/status/2102130652040900664

Email the Arlington County Board/Council:
Matt de Ferranti, mdeferranti@arlingtonva.us,
Maureen Coffey, mcoffey@arlingtonva.us,
Susan Cunningham, scunningham@arlingtonva.us,
Julius D. “JD” Spain, Sr., jdspainsr@arlingtonva.us,
Takis P. Karantonis, tkarantonis@arlingtonva.us,

Email the Arlington County School Board:
Miranda Turner, miranda.turner@apsva.us,
Kathleen Clark, kathleen.clark2@apsva.us,
Monique Bryant, monique.bryant@apsva.us,
Zuraya Tapia-Hadley, zuraya.tapiahadley@apsva.us,
Bethany Zecher Sutton, bethany.zechersutton@apsva.us,