CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va — A majority of the individuals detained by ICE at the Chesterfield Courthouse last month were at court to handle traffic-related violations, according to data obtained from the Chesterfield Sheriff's Office.
Over a four-day period in late June, Chesterfield Sheriff Karl Leonard said ICE detained 15 people at the courthouse. While state leaders, including Governor Glenn Youngkin and Attorney General Jason Miyares, expressed support for the efforts, some advocates and those in the legal community said they were concerned about a possible "chilling effect."
“For ICE to go into courthouses, it creates a huge amount of fear," said local immigration attorney Miriam Airington-Fisher. "Just in the last few weeks after the increase in enforcement in Chesterfield, we've gotten calls from clients and other people who are concerned about going to court, and it's not always people with criminal charges. We have clients that are in various stages of the immigration process, and they want to know, is it safe for me to go to my child support hearing?”
Airington-Fisher said while ICE does have the legal civil authority to arrest people it believes to be undocumented in public spaces, prior presidential administrations have treated courthouses as off limits from immigration enforcement.
Leonard said it was not unusual for ICE to detain people at the courthouse; however, he said it was unusual to see that many people be detained at one time.
Youngkin, who is leading statewide efforts to collaborate with the federal government to arrest "violent criminals that are here illegally," previously offered support for the ICE activity at the courthouse.
"We have a statewide collaboration and partnership between state police, ICE, FBI, and DEA working to make sure that violent criminals who are here illegally are arrested, so the fact that there have been some arrests at the Chesterfield County Courthouse makes sense because they clearly have been arrested, they clearly are here illegally and therefore that's part of our statewide effort," Youngkin said.
In response to a Freedom of Information Act request, Sheriff Leonard provided a list of the pending charges against the courthouse detainees, and most of them were not violent.
Five people had non-traffic-related violations. The most serious offense was an assault on law enforcement. Other charges included petit larceny, receiving stolen goods, trespassing, resisting arrest, and public intoxication.
The remaining ten people were at court for traffic infractions and violations, including no driver's license, improper vehicle registration, illegal inspection sticker, and driving while suspended.
“It's pretty common sense that if you're going to a traffic docket, arresting people who are not in custody, who are going and paying a $20, $50 fine, that those are people that are not charged with violent crimes," Airington-Fisher said.
Here's a breakdown of all the offenses:
Individual 1:
- Fail to obtain registration
- Possession of forged plates/decals
- Drive without a license
- Fail to obey traffic signal
- No state inspection
- Imitation inspection sticker
Individual 2:
- Assault a law enforcement officer
- Obstruct justice/resist arrest
- Petit larceny
Individual 3:
- No state inspection
- No driver’s license
- No driver’s license
- Illegal inspection sticker
- No state inspection
- No seat belt
Individual 4:
- No state inspection
- Improper vehicle registration
- Fail to obtain registration
- Operate uninsured vehicle
Individual 5:
- Drive while suspended
- Illegal inspection sticker
- No state inspection
Individual 6:
- No driver’s license
- Illegal inspection sticker
- No state inspection
Individual 7:
- Receive stolen goods
- Fail to appear in court
Individual 8:
- No driver’s license
Individual 9:
- Petit larceny
- Petit larceny
Individual 10:
- No driver’s license
Individual 11:
- Trespassing
- Obstruct/resist arrest
- Flee from law enforcement
Individual 12:
- Public intoxication
Individual 13:
- Drive with a revoked license
- No state inspection
- Possession of forged plates/decals
- Operate uninsured vehicle
Individual 14:
- Driving while suspended
Individual 15:
- No state inspection
A review of each of the individual's potential criminal history in the Virginia court system database found two of the 15 people faced past charges for violent offenses including assault and malicious wounding. For both defendants, the charges did not result in convictions.
Airington-Fisher said the government has historically been able to easily arrest those who have committed more serious crimes.
“They can go to the jail or the prison and pick up everybody that has serious convictions. That way they don't need to hang out in the lobby of the courthouse or the parking lot and snatch people who are paying traffic fines," she said.
Though Youngkin has emphasized immigration enforcement efforts are targeting dangerous criminals and gang members, when asked about whether traffic-related offenses in Chesterfield still warranted arrests, Youngkin said "yes."
“First of all, if you break the law in America, and you're here illegally, then you should be detained and deported," Youngkin said, calling that "common sense."
Airington-Fisher said crossing the border without a visa is a misdemeanor crime, with some exceptions like those provided by asylum law. But she said the act of being in the country without immigration status is not a criminal offense and would instead be handled as a civil matter.
For those who were detained by ICE, she said their rights moving forward vary depending on their circumstances.
For example, people who have already been deported before, have felony convictions, or have been in the country for less than two years have fewer due process rights and their deportations may be "fast-tracked" under the Trump administration.
On the contrary, people who have been in the country for longer than two years or are already in the process of getting immigration status will be placed into immigration proceedings and eventually go before a judge. In the meantime, Airington-Fisher said people are held in detention centers. The closest locations to Central Virginia are in Caroline County and Farmville, but she said people could be placed in any center across the country.
While immigration enforcement has become more aggressive, Airington-Fisher said the law has not changed, and she's still encouraging people to go through the legal channels to gain immigration status.
"There are still people winning cases. We're still getting cases approved. We're still getting interviews approved. It hasn't changed people's ability to get immigration status. It's just made the process and the environment more chaotic, scary and a little bit more difficult to navigate," Airington-Fisher said.
WATCH: Virginia governor stands by Chesterfield Courthouse ICE arrests regardless of offenses
Since March, the Virginia Homeland Security Task Force, a state-federal partnership, has assisted with 2,500 arrests of people who Youngkin said are violent criminals, including "MS-13 members, Tren de Aragua members, or other international violent gang members."
The task force aims to "combat transnational organized crime, gang violence and immigration violations," according to a press release from the Governor's Office, and includes participation from several state agencies.
During a press conference earlier this week, Youngkin said a "significant portion" of the 2,500 arrests were of violent criminals. He did not, when asked, provide a clearer breakdown of the arrestees who were known to be violent or in gangs.
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