Virginia sanctuary county ignores 1,670 detainer requests over 2 years, House Judiciary Committee finds

The Fairfax County Sheriffs Office in Virginia ignored at least 1,670 immigration detainers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement between 2023 and 2025, releasing criminal illegal immigrants back into the community instead of transferring them to federal custody, according to a new House Judiciary Committee report.

The interim staff report – obtained by Fox News before its noon Tuesday release by the committees Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security and Enforcement – also accuses Fairfax County Commonwealths Attorney Steve Descano of treating illegal immigrant defendants differently from similarly situated American citizens to limit their immigration consequences.

"This interim report provides evidence of the ways in which just one local jurisdiction has implemented policies that allow dangerous foreign nationals to reoffend and avoid deportation," the report, issued under House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Chair Tom McClintock, R-Calif., concluded.

SANCTUARY COUNTY REFUSED 615 ICE TRANSFER REQUESTS, TURNED OVER JUST 11 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS, RECORDS SHOW

"But Fairfax County and prosecutor Steve Descano are not outliers. They are indicative of a modern, radical, socialist Democrat Party that seeks to erase national borders and place illegal alien criminals ahead of law-abiding American citizens," the report added. "The policies supported by these Democrats, including sanctuary policies, will have negative and lasting consequences for Americans. The Committee and Subcommittee will continue to conduct oversight of these sanctuary policies to inform potential legislative reforms to better protect American communities."

SOROS-BACKED DA ACCUSED OF GOING EASY ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS GETS SQUEEZED BY HOUSE GOP

The committee said a preliminary review of more than 1,100 criminal cases identified more than 100 previously unreported illegal immigrants who benefited from Descanos prosecutorial decisions. The report said Descanos office rarely pursued charges against illegal immigrants accused of crimes including driving under the influence, felony drug possession, felony grand larceny, shoplifting, fraud, trespassing, destruction of property and assaulting a law enforcement officer.

The committee accused Descanos office of "de facto" decriminalizing some offenses and said most of the defendants reviewed went on to reoffend, in some cases escalating to violent crimes and murder.

JIM JORDAN SUBPOENAS BLUE STATE DAS ACCUSED OF 'PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT' FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CRIMINALS

The report, titled "Fairfax County, Virginia: The dangerous consequences of sanctuary policies," also alleges that Descano misled Congress about the scope of his policies.

"The Biden-Harris Administration worked to weaken the first Trump Administrations efforts to hold sanctuary jurisdictions accountable for undermining immigration enforcement," the report read. "In addition to dropping federal litigation relating to sanctuary jurisdictions policies, the Biden-Harris Administrations Justic