Alexandria, Virginia, residents who attended a public budget input session before the city’s mayor and members of the city council Monday had some hard questions about the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office and its alleged relationship with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
They accused Alexandria Sheriff Sean Casey of continuing to cooperate with ICE, though a bill that aims to end local and state law enforcement cooperation with ICE passed by the Virginia House last week.
“We need the city council to step up,” said Oliver Merino, with the activist group ICE Out of Alexandria.
He and about 30 others at the meeting called on the city council to cut the Sheriff’s Office budget and investigate whether the sheriff is helping ICE deport members of the Alexandria community.
“For years, (Casey) has been working with ICE to transfer people from the Alexandria jail to ICE custody,” Merino said.
A statement posted to the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office website said the office does not collaborate with ICE, adding, “Our involvement with ICE is strictly limited to what is required by law, and we take care to ensure that our actions remain compliant with all applicable legal mandates.”
But Merino and others said that’s not the case. They accuse the sheriff of holding detainees longer than required so ICE can respond and arrest them, calling ICE when an undocumented person is detained, and transferring people to ICE custody under administrative warrants instead of judicial warrants, as required.
“We want them (city council) to take a very concrete action of cutting his funding if he continues to collaborate with ICE,” Merino said.
“I ask the council to use this budget process and its rightful role of oversight to put pressure on the sheriff to end this voluntary practice of abetting ICE,” Alexandria resident David Ballinger said at the meeting.
In a statement issued by Mayor Alyia Gaskins and members of the city council, the city said it remains committed to a diverse environment and that everyone, “regardless of immigration status,” deserves equal rights and treatment under the law.
“The community is very clear,” he added. “Instead of investing in a sheriff’s department that collaborates with ICE, we want them to invest in things like affordable housing.”
The council will consider the sheriff’s budget Wednesday.
WTOP has reached out to the sheriff’s office for comment.
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