Alexandria Sheriff Changes Policy On Working With ICE

ALEXANDRIA, VA—Alexandria Sheriff Dana Lawhorne has announced changes but not an end to cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Under the policy, ICE must take custody of immigrants within five days before their sentence has been served. That means the sheriff's office will only hold pre-trial detainees for up to 16 hours after they would have been released and an additional eight hours for "unforseen circumstances." The previous policy allowed the jail to hold immigrant detainees for up to two business days past their scheduled release dates.

"I don’t see this as changing our relationship with ICE," said Lawhorne in a statement. "It’s simply an adjustment to better reflect our practices."

The changes were based on study of how long detainees sought by ICE were held over the last 18 months. The analysis found it took an average 10 hours for ICE to pick up immigrants after their release dates and 18 hours to pick up those awaiting trial. Allowing ICE to take custody of inmates within five days of their release date is already provided for under Virginia law.

"We knew anecdotally that transfers were being made without delay and our study confirmed that," said Lawhorne. "The new policy will better reflect what we actually do and reassure the community that people are not being unduly detained."

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What the policy doesn't change is the intergovernmental agreement allowing ICE to use the Alexandria jail as a temporary holding facility for arrested immigrants in pressing cases. Detainees cannot be held for more than 24 hours, and ICE is required to produce a warrant (I-200) and commitment order.

Other jails in the area have gone further. Last month, the Northern Virginia Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Alexandria announced it will end the contract with the federal government to hold non-criminal immigrant children. In neighboring Fairfax County, Sheriff Stacey Kincaid ended an agreement with ICE earlier this year to hold immigrants past their release dates. The Fairfax County sheriff's office said in a statement the only exception would be if an "ICE administrative request to detain the inmate is accompanied by a criminal detainer issued by a court."

Some Alexandria residents have pushed for changes after Fairfax County's termination of its agreement with ICE. Lawhorne had met with the Legal Aid Justice Center and Tenants and Workers United, promising to start making changes. But the groups still believe more should be done.

"We are encouraged that you describe this as a ‘first step.’ And it is a step in the right direction,” said Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, legal director of the Legal Aid Justice Center’s Immigrant Advocacy Program. "But 16 extra hours in jail for immigrants is still 16 hours too long. Immigrants should be treated no differently than citizens: after they post bail, they should be allowed to walk out the front door."

During a city council session this spring, Lawhorne reported 111 people had been turned over to ICE in 2017, reported the Alexandria Times. Of these, 32 had been charged with DWIs, 11 for being drunk in public and the remainder for "property crimes, crimes against minors and violent crimes."

Image via Patch editor Emily Leayman