Republican lawmakers during a congressional hearing on Thursday accused Fairfax County’s County’s chief prosecutor of endangering the lives of local residents by not fully cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which he and the county sheriff forcefully denied.
GOP lawmakers blasted Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano, charging that the county is carrying out sanctuary city policies that give preferential treatment to those in the country illegally.
The hearing of the House Judiciary subcommittee on Immigration, Integrity, Security and Enforcement at times became tense, as Republicans and Democrats sparred over sensitive issues at the heart of the national debate over border enforcement.
Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, criticized Democrats and accused them of trying to defund ICE.
“But Mr. Descano takes it even a step further and says I’m not even going to prosecute the guys who do terrible things,” Jordan said.
Descano said he prosecutes criminals from a wide range of backgrounds and denied he’s making residents less safe.
“Our approach to prosecution of crime has helped make Fairfax County one of the safest jurisdictions of its size in the country,” he said.
Mother of woman killed in Fairfax County testifies
The hearing comes just months after the Feb. 23 murder of Stephanie Minter, who was killed while waiting at a bus stop along Route 1 in Hybla Valley.
Abdul Jalloh, a 32-year-old immigrant from Sierra Leone, will stand trial for Minter鈥檚 murder.
During Thursday’s hearing, Descano personally expressed his condolences to Stephanie Minter’s mother Cheryl and said Jalloh is being prosecuted.
Cheryl Jalloh tearfully spoke about her daughter and said she didn’t deserve to die.
“I am not here for politics. I am here for accountability. I am here because a system failed my daughter,” she said.
At one point, Republican Rep. Troy Nehls, a former sheriff who represents the 22nd District in Texas, called Descano “a disgrace.”
Fairfax County Sheriff Stacey Kincaid joined Descano in defending the local policies.
“It is simply not the job of the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office to engage in federal immigration enforcement,” Kincaid said.
She noted that the county does cooperate with ICE on various matters and that agents are allowed in the county’s facility “at any time.”
She and Descano said they uphold the law, but do not pursue federal matters of civil immigration enforcement.
鈥淟et me be absolutely clear. My office does not provide sanctuary or safe harbor to undocumented immigrants,鈥� Descano testified. “We routinely prosecute immigrants who commit crimes and we will continue to do so.鈥�
DOJ investigation
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Justice began an investigation of Descano.
In a letter to Descano, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Harmeet Dhillon said the DOJ is investigating whether his office violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and the Safe Streets Act, which both 鈥減rohibit recipients of Federal financial assistance from discriminating based upon race, color, or national origin.鈥�
Jalloh has a long history of being arrested and released. Most recently, he was free on his own recognizance after being arrested for malicious wounding in 2025.
The policy in question was adopted by Descano鈥檚 office in 2020 as part of its guidelines for plea bargaining. It instructs assistant Commonwealth鈥檚 attorneys to 鈥渃onsider immigration consequences where possible鈥� and states that 鈥減rosecutors shall consider 鈥� the collateral immigration consequences of the specific crime(s) the defendant is charged with.鈥�
The webpage detailing the policy is no longer publicly available on his office鈥檚 website.
After the launch of the Justice Department investigation, Descano said his policies reflect the community he serves, in which 鈥渢hree in 10 residents of Fairfax County are immigrants.鈥�
He reiterated that point Thursday at the hearing, noting that prosecutors rely on people in the community as eyewitnesses and that there needs to be trust with local law enforcement and the legal system.
海角社区app’s Neal Augenstein contributed to this report.
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