Immigration is dominating national headlines as Texas Governor Greg Abbott struggles to defend the southern border with razor wire, while the Biden Administration wants those barriers dismantled. Virginia Senator Tim Kaine (D), who is up for re-election this fall, spoke about the current Senate negotiations to reach a deal on immigration during Sunday’s Face The Nation. Watch the video of his interview here, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tim-kaine-face-the-nation-transcript-01-28-2024/. Several candidates have filed to run for Senate and challenge Senator Kaine. There will be a primary, which is set for June 18th, to select the Republican nominee.
How is the national crisis impacting us locally?
On January 9th, The Daily Caller broke news that recently re-elected Fairfax County Sheriff Stacy Kincaid released an illegal immigrant who had been arrested for sexual abuse, https://dailycaller.com/2024/01/09/ice-arrests-criminal-illegal-immigrant-allegedly-sexually-abused-child-virginia-county/.
There has since been a back-and-forth between Sheriff Kincaid’s office and Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) as to who’s to blame for releasing the man. Read more in FFXNow.com, https://www.ffxnow.com/2024/01/24/fairfax-county-sheriffs-office-denies-ignoring-ice-detainer-for-man-facing-child-porn-charges/.
How did we get here, Fairfax County?
Back in January 2021, the majority Democrat Fairfax County Board of Supervisors adopted the Public Trust and Confidentiality Policy to prevent county employees from sharing immigration status with federal agencies. Our lone Republican Supervisor, Pat Herrity, was the only vote against the policy. The Tysons Reporter covered the policy passage, https://www.tysonsreporter.com/2021/01/27/fairfax-county-formally-restricts-information-sharing-with-ice/
Fairfax County Public Schools followed the Board of Supervisors by adopting their own Trust Policy in the spring of 2022. FFXNow.com reported on the Board’s vote here, https://www.ffxnow.com/2022/04/13/fcps-unveils-trust-policy-to-prevent-information-sharing-with-ice/
What can you do?
Contact your Supervisor, your FCPS Board Representative and all your elected representatives and let them know how you feel about immigration policy. You can find all of your elected representatives by entering your home address here, https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/myneighborhood/