How Fairfax County’s sanctuary policies led to an illegal immigrant murdering an innocent woman

An illegal immigrant allegedly stabbed a woman to death at a bus stop last week in Fairfax County, Virginia, a sanctuary for illegal immigrants, particularly those with a criminal record, after the Democrat-led jurisdiction let the suspect out of jail dozens of times.

In fact, in recent years, Fairfax County reportedly had the country’s third-highest number of criminally charged illegal immigrants released back into the community, behind Santa Clara County’s main pretrial holding facility in California and Chicago’s Cook County Jail in Illinois.

In 2025, the northern Virginia suburb ranked No. 3 nationally by release volume out of sanctuary strongholds across the country that routinely disregard detention requests from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE detainers, according to the Center for Immigration Studies.

Through these immigration detainers, ICE asks police agencies to temporarily hold illegal immigrants, who were arrested on criminal charges, until deportation officers can safely take custody of them without having to hunt down the at-large illegal immigrants in the streets, sometimes years later, after they had absconded and committed more crimes.

Fairfax County has ignored ICE requests

From October 2022 to February 2025, the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center freed more than a thousand deportable illegal immigrants from lock-up in direct defiance of over 1,150 detainers lodged with local officials, according to ICE records obtained by the Center for Immigration Studies.

CIS reported that Fairfax County’s rejection rate of ICE detention requests over that period outpaced those of many large U.S. cities, including San Francisco County Jail at No. 9 with 462 declined detainers, Minneapolis’ Hennepin County Jail at No. 11 with 363, and New York City’s Rikers Island in Queens at No. 16 with 237.

In terms of refusal rate, Fairfax County trailed slightly behind all of the top non-cooperating jails in Los Angeles County combined, according to the detainer data.

However, the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office, which oversees the county’s only detention facility, denied that it has ever willingly declined an immigration detainer.

“The Sheriff’s Office never declines an ICE detainer,” an agency representative told the Washington Examiner. “ICE is notified every time an undocumented person is booked into the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center. It is ICE’s duty to execute requests and detainers by responding to the location of the person to make the arrest. We have never stopped ICE from doing so.”

Jessica Vaughan, the director of policy studies at CIS, disputed the FSCO’s claims, saying “decline” in this case doesn’t simply mean outright refusing to accept a piece of paper or an electronic transmission.

“It means they declined to honor the request to hold or notify,” Vaughan told the Washington Examiner. “It does ICE no good if the jail simply tells them every time they think they booked an illegal alien into the jail.”

Sheriffs in Virginia are required by procedural code to determine the residency status of individuals taken into custody and share the results of “any immigration alien query” with the inmate tracking system. During the booking process, inmate fingerprints are automatically entered into a database accessible by all local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, including ICE.

“Yes, ICE’s duty is to be there at the time of release, but they need the jail to tell them when that will be,” Vaughan continued. “Saying they never stopped ICE from doing that is misleading and beside the point. This is like a person complaining that a taxi driver never showed up when the person never called them to arrange the ride to begin with.”

Fairfax County, an affluent area near the nation’s capital, has imposed a series of sanctuary policies that restrict police officers and sheriff’s deputies from coordinating with federal authorities for the purpose of immigration enforcement.

In 2018, the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office terminated an Intergovernmental Service Agreement it had with ICE. A letter from Sheriff Stacey Kincaid informed ICE that the FSCO would no longer “honor” any of the agency’s detention requests unless it is accompanied by a court-approved criminal warrant.

The sheriff caveated, “We will continue to cooperate in matters pursuant to Code of Virginia § 53.1-220.2,” a Virginia law that allows jail directors to voluntarily transfer, upon request, the custody of an illegal immigrant to ICE up to five days prior to the inmate’s scheduled release date.

In 2020, the Fairfax County Police Department issued a general order that further barred inter-agency cooperation between police officers and ICE officials. The directive banned local law enforcement from acting on warrants of removal and prohibited ICE agents from accessing Fairfax County police buildings.

“Fairfax County Police officers are not authorized to participate in or facilitate the enforcement of federal civil statutes (i.e., federal immigration laws),” the 2020 order instructed.

Failure to follow the directive could warrant disciplinary action up to and including termination from the police force.

“This is a perfect recipe for public safety problems,” Vaughan said. “It means the small fraction of illegal aliens who are committing crimes are getting just a slap on the wrist and released back to the community instead of to ICE, emboldened to reoffend over and over again.”

Many of these criminal illegal immigrants are not merely public nuisances, Vaughan explained, noting that they are often violent gang members who proliferate in communities home to other illegal immigrants.

“Sanctuaries are a magnet for criminal aliens, because they know they are likely to escape consequences, especially deportation,” Vaughan said.

Fairfax County, according to Vaughan, is one of the most problematic sanctuary jurisdictions in the country because its lax immigration policies attract illegal immigrants from all over, including a disproportionate number of active and violent transnational gangs in the area whose members are mostly illegal immigrants.

These policies, pushed by the county’s Democratic leadership, govern how Fairfax County both polices and prosecutes illegal immigrants it encounters.

“It has a county prosecutor who doesn’t want to prosecute or punish criminal offenders and a sheriff who doesn’t want to cooperate with ICE,” said Vaughn.

ANTI-ICE VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS GET ANOTHER INNOCENT PERSON KILLED

Kincaid, the first female sheriff to lead the FSCO in its 284-year history, has made criminal justice reform a top priority. For instance, she spearheaded Diversion First, an equity-oriented initiative that offers “alternatives to incarceration.”

A Soros-backed prosecutor’s agenda

Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano, a Democrat who has survived two recall efforts, is still campaigning on his lenient policy for prosecuting illegal immigrants.

“Steve’s office will take immigration consequences into account when making charging and plea decisions,” Descano’s campaign website says. “Although prosecutors typically refer to immigration consequences as ‘collateral consequences,’ avoiding the unnecessary destruction of families and communities will be a top priority for Steve as Commonwealth’s Attorney. Wherever possible, Steve will make charging and plea decisions that limit or avoid immigration consequences.”

Descano received significant campaign funding from groups bankrolled by Democratic mega donor George Soros when he first ran for Fairfax County chief prosecutor. During the 2019 election cycle, the Justice & Public Safety PAC, a Soros-funded political action committee that works to elect left-wing prosecutors, gave Descano’s campaign over $600,000.

Descano’s office is facing intense criticism for previously dropping criminal charges in numerous cases against illegal immigrant Abdul Jalloh, a repeat offender who allegedly went on to murder a Virginia mother last week.

Jalloh’s lengthy criminal history includes more than 30 arrests for charges of rape, assault, drug possession, property destruction, identity theft, trespassing, firing a weapon, grand larceny, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and pickpocketing.

In almost every case, Descano’s office dropped the charges.

Jalloh is currently accused of fatally stabbing 41-year-old Stephanie Minter at a Fairfax County bus shelter on the evening of Feb. 23. Investigators quickly located Jalloh as the murder suspect after connecting him to a larceny that occurred earlier that day in close proximity to the crime scene.

Emails obtained by Fox 5 DC and WJLA-TV show that the Fairfax County Police Department had warned Descano’s office multiple times about Jalloh in the months leading up to Minter’s murder.

In one email to a deputy prosecutor on Nov. 18, a Fairfax County police major questioned why Jalloh was released “so soon” in a separate stabbing case. In 2023, Jalloh was sentenced to seven years in prison for malicious wounding, with five of those years suspended.

“Mr. Jalloh is one of the repeat (and violent) felony offenders I expressed concern about when we met,” FCPD Major Jeffrey Mauro wrote, adding that “his behavior appears to be escalating and becoming more violent and explosive.”

In the email, Mauro told Chief Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Jenna Sands that “it is not a question of if, but rather when” Jalloh will harm someone else.

“I wanted to please get your insight on why he is out again so soon and ask if his prior suspended sentence (of I believe 5 years) can be pursued by your office?” Mauro asked Sands. “Unfortunately, based on MTV Station’s numerous dealings with him, it is not a question of if, but rather when he will maliciously wound (or worse) again. My role of keeping the public safe prompts me to follow up on his status.”

Prosecutors did not pursue the suspended sentence after Mauro asked if it could be reinstated.

An internal notification alerted FCPD’s Mount Vernon police station that Jalloh was released from the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center on Nov. 14, 2025. Officers were warned, “Please use caution if you come in contact with him,” advising them that Jalloh had been carrying a knife during his last arrest and had prior ban notices for certain properties.

“He demonstrates a consistent pattern of retail theft, particularly targeting alcohol from ABC stores, 7-Elevens, and other retailers,” the advisory said. “Store employees frequently recognize him, and he has been banned from multiple commercial properties. His repeated violent and explosive behavior has resulted in him being banned from numerous hotels and shelters.”

In a message from May 2025, Fairfax County police sent a bond alert to several prosecutors in Descano’s office, asking them to argue in court that he remain held at the county detention facility.

“This individual has a long history of stabbing community members and is currently on probation for doing that very thing,” an attached document said. “He has shown a blatant disregard for human life and is a danger to the community.”

While out on probation for the 2023 stabbing conviction, Jalloh allegedly stabbed another Virginia resident on May 4, 2025, while he was living in transitional housing provided by a restorative justice organization called Opportunities, Alternatives, & Resources, which partners with Fairfax County to provide “alternative sentencing” and post-release support services.

Jalloh’s lengthy criminal history

Jalloh was granted bond on July 31, 2025. Three weeks later, Jalloh allegedly assaulted an older male and stomped his head into the ground.

When asked about FCPD’s past warnings, a spokeswoman for Descano’s office said that the interdepartmental correspondence shows that the prosecutors “shared police concerns” regarding Jalloh’s likelihood of reoffending.

“These emails support what I have previously shared about this case,” Descano spokeswoman Laura Birnbaum told the Washington Examiner, “which is that our office was aware of Jalloh’s criminal history and shared police concerns about potential future dangerousness — that is why our Chief Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney personally handled these cases.”

Birnbaum, however, declined to specify how her office responded to the FCPD emails at that time. The news outlets that obtained the internal communications did not publish those replies in question.

“I believe the full email chain was released in the FOIA request[s], including our response,” Birnbaum said.

Birnbaum noted that prosecutors will often “explore many different pathways to successful prosecution, but at the end of the day our decisions are constrained by what testimony is available and what is legally permissible and practicable in Fairfax courts.”

FCPD Chief Kevin Davis said in a statement shared with the Washington Examiner that detectives conducted thorough investigations, made lawful arrests, and presented all available evidence for prosecution during previous cases involving Jalloh.

“The court outcomes are in no way related to any shortcomings associated with the FCPD,” the police chief said in response to a request for comment on the email exchanges between county police and prosecutors. “This defendant must be held accountable for his actions. We remain committed to our role to ensure that happens.”

David added, “We respect the criminal justice system and the distinct roles and responsibilities of each entity within it.”

ICE had at least two detainers lodged against Jalloh in Fairfax County prior to Minter’s murder.

The sheriff’s office said an ICE detention request was “filed and received” for Jalloh in 2018, and ICE accordingly took Jalloh into custody directly from the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center on Nov. 27, 2018.

“How he was able to leave ICE custody to return to the community can only be answered by ICE,” the FSCO told the Washington Examiner.

In 2023, an “informal request” was filed against Jalloh. However, he was transported to another detention center on a bed-to-bed transfer order. Jalloh was later released from that other facility.

FSCO did not say which facility Jalloh was transferred to. Detainers are still valid following an inmate transfer, and facilities are generally responsible for forwarding detention requests along to the receiving institution to ensure that a detainer remains in an inmate’s file.

The county sheriff’s office said that ICE did not submit any other detainers or warrants stemming from Jalloh’s numerous arrests over the years.

ICE did not respond to an inquiry about the detainers against Jalloh, who federal officials say entered the United States illegally in 2012.

According to an ICE press release, immigration officers lodged a detainer against Jalloh in 2020. ICE said that Jalloh was issued a final order of removal by a judge who found that he could be deported anywhere other than his home country of Sierra Leone, but the deportation process was complicated by third-country removal conditions.

Jalloh, in connection to Minter’s stabbing death, is being held without bond at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center on second-degree murder charges.

ICE is asking Fairfax County not to release “this public safety threat,” calling the case “another preventable murder of an American citizen” at the hands of an illegal immigrant.

Late last year, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador allegedly murdered a man just one day after Fairfax County had freed him from jail despite a detainer in place against him, ICE said in a press statement.

The suspect, also a serial criminal, had prior arrests for aggravated assault of a police officer, firearm charges, larceny, and disorderly conduct.

On Dec. 17, the suspect allegedly shot the victim inside his home before fleeing, causing an hours-long manhunt that forced nearby schools into lockdown.

“There is blood on the hands of Fairfax County politicians for pushing policies that released this illegal alien from jail and onto the streets of Virginia,” said Tricia McLaughlin, then-assistant secretary of Homeland Security.