Fairfax County Sheriff Stacey A. Kincaid has notified Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that the Sheriff’s Office will no longer hold inmates past their release date unless an ICE administrative request to detain the inmate is accompanied by a criminal detainer issued by a court.

All Sheriffs in Virginia are required by the Code of Virginia to determine the residency status of individuals arrested and brought to jail. During the booking process, fingerprints are automatically transmitted to a state database to which all local, state and national law enforcement agencies, including ICE, have access.

Sheriff Kincaid conveyed her decision to ICE officials in a meeting on January 22 and also via a formal “Notice of Intent to Terminate” the Intergovernmental Service Agreement (IGSA).

In a statement, Sheriff Kincaid said: “We intend to comply with all federal obligations as they pertain to ICE. The current contract is not necessary for us to do this as evidenced by the fact that the vast majority of localities in the Commonwealth have no contractual arrangement. We found it expedient to no longer have an agreement that required us to extend our resources beyond these obligations. We remain committed to our mission and mandate.”

The official termination date of the IGSA will be May 23, 2018, following the required 120 days’ notice.