Fairfax County, Virginia’s Board of Supervisors passed a policy this week that bars county employees — including law enforcement — from sharing information with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials.
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chair Jeff McKay, a Democrat, praised the board’s Tuesday decision during a Friday press conference.
“This new policy overarches all other county departments and says all county agencies will not communicate with ICE when people in our community are coming to us for services,” McKay said, according to DCist. “We’re the first jurisdiction in Virginia to adopt a Trust Policy. I hope that we’re not the last.” (RELATED: Is The US Headed For Open Borders Under Biden’s Immigration Policy?)
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Fairfax chapter welcomed the board’s vote in a Facebook post Tuesday, writing, “The policy prohibits cooperation and information sharing with ICE by all Fairfax agencies including the police.”
“It also provides privacy protection for resident’s personal information; it restricts information sharing with all outside entities. This helps all Fairfax residents, but especially immigrants because ICE is so adept at data-mining any information from any source,” ACLU Fairfax added.
The rule is an extension of Fairfax County’s general order implemented in May that “enhanced” a rule blocking direct police cooperation with ICE and establishes guidelines for “police contact with immigrant communities,” McKay said, according to Fox News.
The Trust Policy also prohibits ICE from accessing county facilities that are not opened to the public without a judicial warrant or similar mandate, according to an explainer document of the policy by ACLU Fairfax and CASA, a Latino immigrant group.