by WorldTribune Staff, October 2, 2019
A police officer in once conservative Fairfax County, Virginia — now a sanctuary county and an affluent Washington, D.C. suburb — was suspended for his role in turning over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) an illegal immigrant who had allegedly dodged a deportation hearing.
Fairfax County Police Chief Edwin C. Roessler Jr. said the officer in question had a “lapse in judgment” when he called ICE about the illegal immigrant.
“This is an unfortunate issue where the officer was confused,” Roessler said. “We have trained on this issue a lot. This is the first time we’ve had a lapse in judgment, and the officer is being punished.”
Responding to a traffic accident on Sept. 21, the officer found that the individual did not have a Virginia driver’s license. After running the person’s information through the Department of Motor Vehicles system, the officer discovered ICE had issued an administrative violation against the individual for failing to appear at a deportation hearing.
The officer issued a uniform summons to the illegal immigrant for driving without a license and took him into custody before turning him over to ICE agents. The illegal immigrant was released from ICE custody three hours later with an ankle monitor — a practice often used by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Roessler said in the statement: “When I learned of this event, I directed an immediate internal investigation to look at all factors in this matter to ensure that all are held accountable for this violation. Our county is one of the most diverse counties in the nation and no one should have the perception that FCPD is acting as a civil immigration agent for ICE. This matter damages our reputation and the longstanding policy that I have stated many times that our officers shall not act as immigration agents.”
Even though Roessler said the officer did not intentionally violate the sanctuary county policy, the officer has been relieved of duties while the department conducts an investigation and will have to attend remedial training.
Breitbart News noted that Fairfax County “has become a central home to the violent MS-13 Gang from El Salvador in part thanks to the generous sanctuary county policy. The gang is made up mostly of illegals from El Salvador who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border, posing as unaccompanied minor children.”
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