SouthernWorldwide.com – Records obtained by the conservative legal group America First Legal (AFL) reveal that Fairfax County, Virginia, has declined 615 requests from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to transfer individuals over the past 16 months, while only handing over 11. This data highlights a significant discrepancy in the county’s cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
Fairfax County, which has only one Republican supervisor despite being the most populous jurisdiction in Virginia, formally declared itself a sanctuary jurisdiction in 2021. This designation followed the passage of the Public Trust and Confidentiality Policy, often referred to as the “Trust Policy.”
America First Legal submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the county, seeking records from the office of Fairfax County Sheriff Stacey Ann Kincaid. Sheriff Kincaid had previously testified at a contentious House hearing regarding Fairfax’s reluctance to cooperate with federal law enforcement.
The data, directly sourced from a Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office document, indicates that throughout 2025, Sheriff Kincaid’s office refused to transfer 448 individuals to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for processing. During the same period, only nine individuals were turned over to ICE. In the first four months of 2026, Fairfax County declined to transfer an additional 167 individuals, with only two being transferred to ICE.
County policy has, since its implementation, prohibited law enforcement from honoring ICE civil detainers or otherwise assisting with federal immigration enforcement efforts.
America First Legal has largely attributed the situation to Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Stephen Descano. Descano, who sat alongside Kincaid at the recent hearing, faced intense questioning from Republican lawmakers concerning his prosecutorial discretion in cases involving individuals arrested in the county who were in the country illegally.
AFL pointed out that Descano is currently under investigation by the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. The investigation stems from allegations that U.S. citizens are being discriminated against due to the prosecutor’s stated preferential policies. These policies were reportedly highlighted on his campaign pages and were a focal point for Subcommittee Chairman Tom McClintock, R-Calif., and others during the hearing.
The legal group also referenced a series of serious crimes, including fatal stabbings and an alleged assault on a woman along the Washington & Old Dominion Trail. AFL claims these incidents were committed by individuals who were in the country illegally and subsequently received lenient sentences or had charges dropped.
Descano has consistently defended his prosecutorial discretion, asserting that his decisions are evidence-based and handled on a case-by-case basis. A spokesperson for his office stated that their policies are fair, legal, and align with the values of Fairfax County, emphasizing their commitment to public safety and accountability.
However, America First Legal President Gene Hamilton criticized the county’s actions, stating that the “deliberate obstruction by county officials protects illegal alien lawbreakers and endangers every family in Northern Virginia.” He urged Fairfax County to reverse its policies, which he described as “reckless, anti-American governance.”
In the most recent recorded month, April 2026, 32 individuals identified as being in the sheriff’s office’s custody were subject to an “informed detainer.” None of these individuals were released to ICE. Three of them were listed as convicted.
AFL also highlighted data from Santa Clara County, California, which informed the group that it received 529 ICE detainer requests in 2025 but honored none. This indicates a similar pattern of non-cooperation with federal immigration authorities in another prominent sanctuary jurisdiction.
America First Legal stated that if each detainer request represents a unique individual, then an average of 1.34 arrested individuals were released into Santa Clara County daily. This sheds light on the potential scale of individuals not being transferred to ICE custody.
These statistics are expected to continue drawing scrutiny from the Trump administration and advocacy groups like AFL, which are actively seeking data from sanctuary jurisdictions across the nation. The pattern suggests a broader trend of resistance to federal immigration enforcement policies in certain local governments.
