Overview
- Steve Descano, who testified Thursday before a House Judiciary subcommittee, said his office does not offer sanctuary or special treatment to undocumented defendants and insisted prosecutors pursue crimes regardless of immigration status.
- The Justice Department opened a civil-rights investigation May 6 into Fairfax’s charging, plea, and sentencing practices to see if a 2020 directive to consider immigration consequences caused unequal treatment in violation of Title VI and the Safe Streets Act, which bar discrimination by federally funded programs.
- Lawmakers pressed Descano over a recently removed campaign webpage that promised to factor deportation risks into charging and plea decisions, and he replied that campaign language was not his official policy.
- Fairfax Sheriff Stacey Kincaid told lawmakers the sheriff’s office does not conduct civil federal immigration enforcement, saying deputies follow court orders and allow ICE access at the jail, as critics accused county leaders of failing to honor detainers.
- Cheryl Minter, whose daughter Stephanie was fatally stabbed February 23rd, told the panel the system failed her family, and the unresolved DOJ review could force policy changes in Fairfax like negotiated reforms that have followed similar federal probes elsewhere.