I want to reassure the community that the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office does not participate in any type of immigration enforcement in our communities.

ICE does not use the Alexandria Detention Center to hold their detainees and they are not on our contract with the United States Marshals Service. There is no circumstance by which someone is held at the detention center for a civil immigration violation only. This policy will not change under any circumstances.

Please contact me at 703.746.4114 with any questions or concerns. Or you can call Deputy Victor Ignacio at 703.746.5013 who speaks fluent Spanish. If you know of someone who is in need of help, please contact us and we will do our best to assist you.

Quiero asegurarle a la comunidad que la Oficina del Sheriff de Alexandria no participa en ningún tipo de ejecución de las leyes de inmigración en nuestra comunidad.

ICE no utiliza el Centro de Detención de Alexandria para retener a sus detenidos y no es parte de nuestro contrato de los Servicios de Los Aguaciles (Marshals) de los Estados Unidos. No existe ninguna circunstancia por la cual alguien sea retenido en el centro de detención solo por una violación civil de inmigración. Estas reglas no cambiarán bajo ninguna circunstancia.

Por favor comuniquese conmigo al 703.746.4114 si tiene alguna pregunta acerca de este tema. También pueden llamar a Diputado Victor Ignacio al 703.746.5013. Diputado Ignacio habla español. Si usted conoce a alguien que necesita ayuda, comuniquese con nosotros y haremos todo lo posible para ayudarlo o contestar sus preguntas.

Sheriff/Alguacil Sean Casey
January 6, 2023/6 de enero de 2023

The Alexandria Sheriff’s Office is a public safety agency committed to ensuring the safety and security of the diverse communities we proudly serve. The Sheriff’s Office operates the Alexandria Adult Detention Center (ADC) and complies with local, state, and federal laws. All Sheriffs in Virginia are required by Code of Virginia §19.2-83.2 and §53.1-218 to determine the residency status of individuals arrested and brought to jail on felony charges. During the booking process, fingerprints are automatically transmitted to a state database to which all local state and national law enforcement agencies, including ICE, have access.

As of August 2018, the Sheriff’s Office no longer holds local inmates past their release date unless an ICE administrative request to detain the inmate is accompanied by a criminal detainer issued by a court. Under Virginia Code §53.1-220.2, the Sheriff’s Office transfers custody of an adjudicated inmate to ICE up to five days prior to the date that he or she would otherwise be released. Local offenders are not held beyond the state release date without a criminal warrant.

The Sheriff’s Office has an intergovernmental agreement with the U.S. Marshals Service to house federal inmates at our ADC. As of January 1, 2023, ICE is no longer part of this agreement. This agreement is not used to house any individual arrested by ICE for non-criminal immigration violations and the Sheriff’s Office does not assist ICE with enforcement of immigration law.

Following are the number of inmates transferred to ICE in recent years:

2012 -- 147
2013 -- 119
2014 -- 96
2015 -- 50
2016 -- 56
2017 -- 105
2018 -- 121
2019 -- 89
2020 -- 35
2021 -- 11
2022 -- 12

The overwhelming majority were in jail after being arrested for serious crimes. In 2022, 10 of the 12 had been arrested for felonies and eight of those were for violent felonies. A complete list of charges for 2022 is available upon request.