Data released on the eve of a consequential vote by the Prince William-Manassas jail board shows that 579 people booked into the local jail have been deported from the U.S. since 2018 under the county’s agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement – including 125 who had not yet been convicted of a crime or had their criminal charges dropped.
The 11-member jail board is slated to decide Wednesday evening whether to renew the county’s ICE agreement, known as 287(g). The program, which is voluntary, has been a point of contention for area residents and officials since it was first signed by county officials in 2007.
Under the agreement, local sheriff’s deputies in the jail work as ICE agents, giving ICE direct access to local inmates. Supporters of the agreement, including the Jail Board Chairman Sheriff Glen Hill, say the program helps bolster public safety in the county. Detractors say the agreement was approved by local politicians to intimidate the Latino community in Prince William County and has resulted in family separations and deportations.
Prince William County and Culpeper County are the only localities in Virginia that currently hold 287(g) agreements with ICE. Data released by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Tuesday shows that 579 people booked into Prince William-Manassas jail have been deported since 2018 under agreement. But details about the criminal charges that led to their eventual deportations was not disclosed.
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