Posted on December 20, 2022

Sanctuary Counties Making Private Deals with ‘Abolish ICE’ Groups to Protect Criminal Illegal Aliens

John Binder, Breitbart, December 19, 2021

Officials in Arlington, Virginia, are working behind the scenes with left-wing non-governmental organizations (NGOs), who support abolishing federal immigration enforcement, to shape county policy that shields criminal illegal aliens from arrest and deportation.

An investigation from the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) reveals the extent to which Arlington County board members are working hand-in-hand with activists from the Legal Aid Justice Center (LAJC) to protect illegal aliens arrested for crimes from being turned over to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

In July, the Arlington County board unanimously approved a quasi-sanctuary policy that bans local police from inquiring about a suspect’s immigration status and requires officers to ask their supervisor’s permission before notifying ICE agents about an illegal alien in their custody.

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As it turns out, private emails published by IRLI’s investigation show, the Arlington County board collaborated on the sanctuary policy with LAJC and other left-wing NGOs:

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Simon Sandoval-Moshenburg, legal director Legal Aid Justice Center (LAJC) wrote to the Chair of the Arlington County Board, Katie Cristol to express consternation that his organization was not consulted before the Board produced an initial draft of the Trust policy. {snip}
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The vote was delayed ostensibly to accommodate commentary and suggested edits from the LAJC and other radical organizations like it. On July 15, board member Matt de Ferranti sent an email to anti-borders activists, among them SandovalMoshenburg and personnel associated with La ColectiVA. Attached to the email was a “near final draft of the Trust Policy.” Ferranti says explicitly that the updated draft includes “some/many” changes that the activists wanted. {snip}[Emphasis added]

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{snip} About $105,00 in tax dollars was confirmed to be allocated to LAJC in the county budget this year.

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