Fairfax County, Virginia, refused to transfer 615 undocumented immigrants to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) over a 16-month period, opting to transfer only 11 individuals, according to records obtained by America First Legal (AFL). The data covers the entirety of 2025 and the first four months of 2026.
During 2025, the Fairfax County Sheriff's Office declined 448 transfer requests and handed over nine individuals to ICE. In the first four months of 2026, the office refused 167 requests and transferred two individuals.
The county formally designated itself a sanctuary jurisdiction in 2021 with the adoption of the Public Trust and Confidentiality Policy, which generally prohibits law enforcement from honoring ICE civil detainers or otherwise assisting federal immigration enforcement. The policy has faced scrutiny, including during a recent House hearing where Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Steve Descano and Sheriff Stacey Ann Kincaid testified.
AFL has placed blame for the county's policies on Descano, alleging that the framework encourages recidivism among undocumented offenders. The legal group pointed to cases such as the murder of Stephanie Minter, a Fredericksburg woman whose alleged killer is an undocumented immigrant with a criminal record in Fairfax County, as a consequence of these policies.
Descano's office has defended its policies, stating they are evidence-based, handled on a case-by-case basis, and reflect the values of Fairfax County. A spokesperson for Descano characterized a Justice Department probe into his office's policies as politically motivated and distorting the office's approach.
Will Scolinos, counsel for AFL, rejected the county's defense, stating that cases like Minter's murder are a direct result of the county's policy shielding undocumented immigrants from federal law enforcement. He argued that this obstruction endangers residents and urged the county to reverse its policies.
In April 2026, the most recent month for which data was provided, 32 undocumented immigrants were in the sheriff's office's custody. All were subject to an "informed detainer," and three were listed as convicted, with none released to ICE.
Similar practices have been observed in other sanctuary jurisdictions. AFL also noted that Santa Clara County, California, received 529 ICE detainer requests in 2025 and honored none. According to AFL, this indicates an average of 1.34 arrested undocumented immigrants were released daily in Santa Clara County that year.
The trend of sanctuary jurisdictions limiting cooperation with ICE is expected to continue drawing scrutiny from federal authorities and organizations like AFL, which are seeking data from such areas nationwide.