The ACLU of Virginia strongly objects to the Caroline County Board of Supervisors’ recent decision to enter into a contract agreement with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to use a former county facility to hold immigrant detainees.

“This ruling will go down in history as one of the Supreme Court’s great failures. It repeats the mistakes of the Korematsu decision upholding Japanese-American imprisonment and swallows wholesale government lawyers’ flimsy national security excuse for the ban..."

Virginia should welcome newcomers and promote cooperation between immigrants and local police; not create fear of detention and removal for coming forward to report crimes. For these reason, the ACLU of Virginia urges Governor Northam to veto HB 1257.

Today, Fairfax County Sheriff Stacey Kincaid announced that she would terminate the Intergovernmental Service Agreement (IGSA) with U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on May 23, 2018. The following statement can be attributed to our Executive Director Claire G. Gastañaga:

The Trump administration today announced the termination of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program, which has served as a critical lifeline for nearly 800,000 young immigrants, or “Dreamers,” who came to this country as children and know the United States as their only home.

The ACLU of Virginia is pleased that Sheriff Bob Mosier has withdrawn his application for authority under 287(g) to enforce federal immigration law at the Fauquier jail.