Video, Highlights as House GOP Attempts to “bully and scapegoat” Fairfax County, While NOT Talking About “the unconstitutionality of this administration’s policies”

See below for video and a few highlights from today’s Republican-controlled U.S. House Judiciary Committee witch hunt…er, hearing, “Fairfax County, Virginia: The Dangerous Consequences of Sanctuary Policies.” As Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) put it, the Trump administration is waging a “cruel” war on immigrants; immigration is a federal responsibility; meanwhile, Fairfax County is “the safest county of its size in the United States”); “this committee should be holding hearings on the unconstitutionality of this administration’s policies,  on the killing of American citizens by ICE and CBP” instead of “further[ing] this administration’s anti-immigrant agenda and distract[ing] people from the real issues at hand.” And as Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) put it, “this hearing would probably be better taking place in Richmond before the General Assembly, because we’re doing a deep dive into the prosecutorial and jail policy decisions of one county, Fairfax County, which was recently ranked…the safest county of its size in the entire United States of America”; “its people, its elected officials certainly do not deserve the contempt and the derision of this committee”; the Trump administration is trying to blame local jurisdictions for its own failures, preferring to “bully and scapegoat” and “[demonize]” places like Fairfax County.

• Fairfax County Sheriff Stacey Kincaid said the safety and security of Fairfax has been her “absolute priority for the past 38 years,” that “all those that commit crimes should be held accountable”; “my agency is not staffed for, budgeted for or mandated to perform the duties of the federal government”; “it is simply not the job of the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office to engage in federal immigration enforcement”; “despite this, we work with ICE in significant ways…but it is their business to conduct, not ours”…”unfortunately, we live in a time when such tragedies are used for political blame”.
• Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano said he’s “proud of what we’ve accomplished,” that “Fairfax County is one of the safest large communities” in the country; unfortunately, “crime does happen”; some are promoting a “false narrative that gets us no closer to real solutions”; “let me be absolutely clear, my office does not provide sanctuary or safe harbor to undocumented immigrants” but does not assist ICE with federal civil immigration enforcement – “it is simply not our job” and also “makes our community safer”; “it is justice that my office is now seeking by prosecuting the defendant…in the tragic murder of Stephanie Minter…they system failed Ms. Minter…the defendant was well known by ICE as early as 2018, when ICE held him in custody for nearly two years during the first Trump administration, only to release him into the community”; “we are fully committed to holding the defendant accountable in this case.”
• Former VA Attorney General Jason Miyares irresponsibly demagogued and bashed undocumented immigrants (notice how Miyares ignores the fact that undocumented immigrants commit crimes, including violent crimes, at a LOWER rate than native-born Americans? that conflicts with Miyares’ narrative, of course), as well as Fairfax County, as one would expect…truly disgusting, false rhetoric by Miyares.
• Rep. Ben Cline (R-VA06) also irresponsibly demagogued and bashed undocument immigrants, Fairfax County, etc., just as one would expect a right-wing extremist like Cline to do so.

Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA11)’s statement on this hearing:

“My heart goes out to the Minter family and all those who have lost loved ones to violence. The pain of losing a child is unfathomable, and I hope their faith, family, and community can bring some measure of comfort.  

Fairfax County has been the safest large jurisdiction in America because we invest in law enforcement, invest in services, and have built strong partnerships with every community, including immigrant communities. Fairfax County’s already low crime rates fell dramatically in 2025, with homicides down 7%, shootings down 37%, and sex offenses down 11%. 

Anyone who is involved in violence and is not in the country lawfully should be prosecuted and deported. Sheriff Kincaid has made clear that when individuals are detained at the Fairfax Adult Detention Center, ICE is treated like any other law enforcement agency and has the lawful opportunity to take custody. In the case of Abdul Jalloh, ICE had many opportunities to detain him — both before and after they released him onto the streets in 2018. Governor Youngkin’s Department of Corrections released him again in 2022. 

Once again, the Trump Administration, Congressional Republicans, and ICE are deflecting from their own failures. Their mass deportation agenda has diverted resources away from detaining “the worst of the worst” and toward children, families, and law-abiding immigrants. They’re letting the small number of Abdul Jallohs go free so they can detain 4 year olds like Liam Ramos. It’s shameful.”