Arlington County, Virginia, has voted to further restrict how its police department can cooperate with federal immigration enforcement, drawing sharp criticism from state officials who argue the move will endanger public safety.
The Arlington County Board voted to amend its “Trust Policy” last week, eliminating provisions that had allowed local law enforcement to initiate contact with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in specific cases involving violent or serious crimes.
The vote effectively bars Arlington County Police Department (ACPD) officers from engaging with ICE in cases that previously included suspected gang affiliation, terrorism-related arrests, or human trafficking offenses involving undocumented immigrants.
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The policy, originally adopted in July 2022, had granted police limited authority to notify ICE if an undocumented immigrant was identified as a gang member and had been arrested for a violent felony or criminal street gang offense.
The same applied in cases involving arrests for terrorism or human trafficking. Those clauses have now been removed.
The changes were first reported by local outlet WJLA and have since prompted criticism from top state officials, including Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, who warned of serious public safety consequences.
“Banning local police from alerting ICE, from terrorists, from MS-13 gang members, from human traffickers — that is not compassion. That’s actually negligence,” Miyares said in a statement to Fox News.
“I want to be clear, this present policy does absolutely nothing to make Arlington safe. It makes it less safe.”
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“The only people that benefit from this are illegal immigrants that have committed some of the most heinous acts, whether it’s human trafficking or even acts of terrorism,” Miyares added.
“It does not protect the community, does not protect Arlington, does not protect Virginians.”
Arlington County Board Chair Takis Karantonis defended the decision, saying the policy update is consistent with local values and civil rights protections.
“To be clear, breaking the law is still breaking the law. This decision does not change that, and if a crime is committed, law enforcement will respond,” Karantonis said.
He also cited concerns over what he described as “the federal administration’s ongoing erosion of the constitutional right to due process.”
Governor Glenn Youngkin also weighed in, calling the vote a betrayal of duty and accusing the board of prioritizing the protection of violent offenders over community safety.
“The Arlington County Board’s latest action to prohibit Arlington Police from any cooperation with ICE, even regarding violent MS-13 gang members who are illegally here, is dereliction of duty and a betrayal of the oath they swore to protect their constituents,” Youngkin wrote on X.
“At what point did protecting violent illegal immigrants become more important than protecting your constituents?” he continued.
“The Virginia Homeland Security Task Force has been working in Arlington County, catching and arresting violent criminals, including MS-13 gang members. That will continue — unabated — in Arlington and around the Commonwealth.”
The Arlington County Board’s latest action to prohibit Arlington Police from any cooperation with ICE, even regarding violent MS-13 gang members who are illegally here, is dereliction of duty and a betrayal of the oath they swore to protect their constituents. At what point did…
— Glenn Youngkin (@GlennYoungkin) May 15, 2025
The updated Trust Policy is the latest development in Arlington’s broader effort to limit local-federal immigration enforcement partnerships.
The county previously ended its participation in ICE’s 287(g) program and has supported initiatives aimed at providing resources to undocumented residents.
The Board has not released specific data on how often ACPD had previously contacted ICE under the now-removed clauses, but the move comes at a time of increased political scrutiny over local policies seen as limiting cooperation with federal law enforcement.
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