The 'legally impossible' warrant: how Fairfax says no to ICE

Ask Fairfax County why it releases people ICE wants, and the answer is always the same: bring a judicial warrant. The House Judiciary Committee's Oct. 20 staff report explains why that answer amounts to a no.

What ICE asks for. A detainer is a formal request, backed by ICE's probable cause that someone already in jail on a criminal charge is removable. It asks the jail to give ICE notice before release, or to hold the person up to 48 hours so ICE can take custody inside a secure facility rather than on the street. Virginia law, Va. Code § 53.1-220.2, lets a sheriff transfer custody to ICE up to five days before release.

What Fairfax demands. Sheriff Stacey Kincaid ended her office's agreement with ICE in 2018, the report says, and her policy refuses to hold anyone "based on an informal request or detainer." She requires a judicial warrant. The report says federal law requires no such warrant, and one isn't possible in most immigration cases unless the person is charged with a federal crime.

What Miyares told Congress. Former Attorney General Jason Miyares testified to the subcommittee in May:

Q: Well, is a federal judicial warrant possible to obtain in a state crime?
A: No, it's not, and they know this.
Q: And if deportation is a civil matter, how does one get a federal judicial warrant?
A: You can't. Again, they know this.
Q: So, they're basically lying to the public? ...
A: It's legally impossible, yes, Mr. Chair.

Why it matters. The report says that policy produced at least 1,670 declined detainers from 2023 through 2025. It cites former ICE officials who told the committee that ignored detainers push arrests out of jails and into neighborhoods, endangering officers and the public.

The Richmond angle. The report says Gov. Abigail Spanberger rescinded Gov. Youngkin's ICE-cooperation order on her first day and ordered state agencies to end 287(g) agreements, and that a federal judge temporarily paused parts of that directive in September. In Congress, the committee has advanced H.R. 7640, the Shut Down Sanctuary Policies Act, which would bar state and local policies restricting cooperation with federal immigration officials.

RVN has asked Descano's office for comment. The report's claims are drawn from records the committee says it holds, which have not been made public.

Source: "Fairfax County, Virginia: The Dangerous Consequences of Sanctuary Policies," interim staff report of the House Judiciary Committee and its Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement, released Oct. 20, 2026. Read the report (PDF).

Fairfax is an independent city in Northern Virginia.

Fairfax County is a county in Northern Virginia. Its county seat is Fairfax, an independent city.