Overview
- Victim Stephanie Minter’s family joined former Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares and advocates in Richmond on Tuesday to press for changes to immigration enforcement and local prosecution.
- Police say Minter, 41, was fatally stabbed on Feb. 23 at a Fairfax County bus stop, and surveillance showed her and Abdul Jalloh exiting the same bus before he was arrested on larceny the next day and then charged with second-degree murder.
- Federal officials say Jalloh was in the U.S. illegally with more than 30 prior arrests, and DHS said immigration authorities had previously lodged a detainer requesting custody if he was released from local jail.
- Records cited by local officials show ICE held Jalloh in 2018 after a felony conviction and a judge ruled he could not be deported, while Fairfax leaders dispute that county policies caused this case and instead question federal enforcement decisions.
- Prosecutors say they secured a prior conviction against Jalloh but some cases could not proceed without victim cooperation, and the sheriff controls any ICE transfers, as lawmakers now weigh a bill to limit cooperation and Congress plans an April hearing with Fairfax’s prosecutor.