Fairfax Prosecutor Struggles to Defend Lax Treatment of Illegal Immigrants in Heated Hearing
Fairfax Commonwealth Attorney Steve Descano struggled to defend his office’s lax treatment of illegal immigrants during a heated Thursday hearing on Capitol Hill, where he was joined by the mother of a woman who was recently murdered by an illegal alien.
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The House Judiciary Committee asked Descano to testify in light of recent violent crimes committed by illegal immigrants in Fairfax County, including the brutal murder of Stephanie Minter earlier this year at a Fairfax bus stop.
Abdul Jalloh, an illegal immigrant from Sierra Leone, was charged with second-degree murder after he allegedly stabbed Minter to death in February. Jalloh had countless of previous charges brought against him, including for egregious crimes such as aggravated assault, malicious wounding, and rape.
Descano’s office dropped more than half of these charges over the years, claiming Jalloh often chose victims who did not have permanent addresses, making the proceedings more difficult as authorities were unable to locate or contact victims.
Minter’s mother, Cheryl Minter, made an appeal for accountability at the hearing.
“I am here because these systems failed my daughter,” Minter said. “When warnings are ignored, families like mine pay the price.”
“Compassion should never come at the cost of public safety,” she added. “Care for one group should never come at the cost of another.”
Descano apologized to Minter for her loss in his opening statement.
“I am deeply sorry for your loss. I say that as not only a prosecutor, but as a parent with a daughter,” Descano said, sitting next to Minter. “I promise, my office is doing everything we can to prosecute the man responsible.”
But throughout the hearing Thursday, Descano attempted to skirt responsibility for Minter’s death, among other examples of vicious crimes committed by illegal aliens in Fairfax, claiming he stands by Fairfax County’s “Trust Policy,” which promises illegal immigrants in Fairfax can “access county benefits and services without fear that the information they share will be disclosed to federal immigration officials.”
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R., Ohio) on Thursday confronted Descano about a now-deleted statement on the prosecutor’s website that said, “Our office will take immigration consequences into account when making prosecuting decisions.”
“If two people commit the same crime, but only one’s punishment includes deportation, that’s a perversion of justice and not a reflection of the values of Fairfax County,” Descano’s website read.
But the statement, which had been present on Descano’s site for six years, was removed from the website one week after the committee called on the prosecutor to testify.
Descano pushed back on Thursday, asserting it was a campaign statement, not the policy his office follows.
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“I didn’t realize people were so obtuse that they could not realize what the difference between a campaign statement and an actual office policy is,” he said.
Descano could not answer how many times his office took an illegal immigrant’s status into account when prosecuting, but maintained that current policy says that no preferential treatment is given.
“We’re not protecting undocumented individuals, we prosecute people who commit crimes in Fairfax County regardless of their status,” Descano said. “ICE’s role is to do federal immigration enforcement.”
The Department of Homeland Security wanted to arrest Jalloh in the wake of Minter’s murder, but Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger stood firm that ICE needed a judicial warrant to make the arrest, regardless of an alien’s criminal history.
Descano’s office has also come under fire for its own refusal to cooperate with ICE detainer requests, and its general reluctance to share information with federal immigration officials.
Descano on Thursday claimed many witnesses and potential jury members in Fairfax County are illegal immigrants, and if they fear deportation, his job as a prosecutor becomes much harder.
“When we don’t have witnesses, that means, unfortunately, bad guys hit the streets again,” Descano said during questioning. “This is what my trust policy is trying to avoid.”
Descano’s defense of the “Trust Policy” rests largely on the county’s large proportion of illegal immigrants — if 20 percent of the county fears deportation, there are less people willing to come forward and speak with authorities. When his office does not help enforce federal immigration enforcement, Fairfax County is safer, Descano claimed.
The Cato Institute’s David Bier also testified during Thursday’s hearing, noting “About 1 in 5 Fairfax residents is someone who could be deported or lives with them.”
The “Trust Policy” largely does not allow local police to contact ICE when they have an illegal alien in custody, and Fairfax County Sheriff Stacey Kincaid does not honor ICE detainer requests.
Kincaid also testified Thursday, and when asked if her office would coordinate with federal agents in deporting Jalloh, she said as long as she has the authority to do so, the sheriff’s department will cooperate.
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“I would certainly hope this case would be prosecuted” Kincaid said.
