The Washington Times
A new Virginia law targeting illegal aliens has been embraced as a powerful weapon to combat gangs and terrorism by local police departments, but Arlington County officials plan to ignore it.
The law, which takes effect July 1, permits local police to arrest any illegal immigrant who previously had been convicted of a felony and deported. Under current state law, police investigating a crime are not authorized to forcibly hold an illegal immigrant pending the arrival of a Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent.
A spokesman for Arlington County Police Chief M. Douglas Scott told The Washington Times that, rather than use the new arrest powers, the force likely will follow existing department policy that forbids immigration-related investigations.
The Arlington policy also discourages officers from checking a suspect's immigration status, despite evidence that illegal aliens are involved in the region's crime gangs and terrorist cells.