Supervisor McKay of Fairfax County Responds: "I Trust the Sheriff"

This morning, I received a disappointing, abortive response letter from Supervisor Jeffrey McKay of Fairfax County, Virginia.

This is unbelievable:

From: SupervisorMcKay
Sent: Monday, May 7, 2018 6:20:30 AM
To: ArthurSchaper@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: Fairfax County Board of Supervisors: You Must Reinstate the 287(g) Program in the County Jail System

Arthur – Thanks for reaching out to me with your concerns about the Sheriff’s decision to terminate the Intergovernmental Service Agreement (IGSA) with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

It’s important to note that the Board of Supervisors is not a party of the agreement, and thus has no legal ability to join or terminate the IGSA. That responsibility falls completely to the Sheriff.

Sheriff Kincaid has informed me that termination of this agreement aligns Fairfax County with more than 99 percent of sheriffs in the Commonwealth of Virginia; 122 of the state’s 123 county and city sheriffs do not have an IGSA. These jurisdictions have not reported an elevated safety risk from releasing inmates on the date the court said they should be released.

Moreover, the Sheriff’s Intelligence Unit, which actively investigates inmates who may be part of gangs, will be unaffected by this change. This unit will still share crucial information about suspects and inmates with all appropriate law enforcement agencies. Please know that when inmates are convicted and sentenced for serious crimes – such as rape, robbery and murder – they are not released to the street. The Virginia Department of Corrections (DOC) takes custody of these inmates to serve their sentence in a state prison. If the inmate is wanted by ICE, agents will pick up the inmate from the DOC once the full sentence has been served.

I have full faith and confidence in Sheriff Kincaid and am certain no decision she makes will endanger or harm our community.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey C. McKay

Lee District Supervisor

We need to ensure that federal law enforcement receives every tool possible to thwart illegal aliens in any community, including Virginia. This kind of hands-off approach is outrageous.

Just because other jails have not set up a similar program is not an excuse for them to discontinue their own.

For those unfamiliar with the 287(g) program, here's the description from the ICE Website:

The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 added Section 287(g), performance of immigration officer functions by state officers and employees, to the Immigration and Nationality Act. This authorizes the Director of ICE to enter into agreements with state and local law enforcement agencies, permitting designated officers to perform immigration law enforcement functions, provided that the local law enforcement officers receive appropriate training and function under the supervision of ICE officers.

Why would any jail system want to end this necessary cooperation?

Contact Supervisor McKay's office immediately, and tell him to support ICE, immigration enforcement, and to demand that Fairfax County Sheriff Kincaid renew the 287(g) program.