Prince William Jail Board abolishes 287(g) program used to ID suspected illegal immigrants

The 287(g) program in Prince William County will end on June 30.

The county’s Jail Board failed to make a motion to reauthorize the program, which, in cooperation with federal Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officials, identifies the legal presence of inmates at the county’s Adult Detention Center in Manassas.

If inmates are suspected of being in the U.S. illegally, an ICE detainer is issued, and the inmate is transferred into ICE custody, where the inmate faces possible deportation from the U.S.

ICE officials assured the jail board that if the program was not renewed, the agency would dramatically shift its enforcement operations from the jails to the streets in search of illegal immigrants. Instead of working directly with officers at the Prince William jail, ICE says it will use fingerprint information for inmates obtained at the time they’re processed into the jails to determine if someone suspected of immigrating to the U.S. illegally has been arrested.

While it will make their jobs more difficult and dangerous, they said, ICE told the jail board during its meeting on Wednesday night it would start combing local neighborhoods in search of their suspects.

Since 2017, a total of 65 people in the Prince Wiliam jail suspected of murder were issued ICE detainers, as well as 277 for sexual assault, 489 for “dangerous” drug offenses, and 1,612 DUIs, ICE told the Jail Board.

Prince William County has logged the most ICE detainers in Virginia, ICE officials said. The program has operated in Prince William County since 2007. Culpeper County is the only other county in the state that has a 287(g) agreement with ICE.

Manassas Police Cheif Douglas Keen, who chairs the region’s gang task force, says the majority of gang activity in the past year has shifted from Fairfax County into neighboring Prince William County and Manassas City.

“About 90% of all arrests by the gang task force are people who have entered the country illegally,” said Keen.

Prince William County Jail Superintendent Col. Peter Meleits told the jail board that, at the time when inmates are processed into his jail, they’re asked two questions: What is your home country of origin, and in what country were you born? About 200 people month are processed into the jail, and most are in the U.S. legally, added Meletis. However, there have been months where the jail has issued as many as 30 ICE detainers.

One such detainer was issued last month for Walner Alberto Pichinte Echeverria, 35, of 6502 Monarch Road in Frederick, Md. is charged with felony hit and run, charged in the hit-and-run death 62-year-old Alberto Anthony Marino, of Bristow who was struck and killed on Balls Ford Road near Manassas.

The 287(g) program cost Prince William County taxpayers about $160,000 per year after ICE reimburses the county for a portion of its initial expenses totaling $287,000, said Meletis.

Prince William County Sheriff Glendell Hill, who is chairman of the jail board, said he supported the 287(g) program and urged board members to keep it, noting that inmates could talk to, and work with law enforcement in their efforts to catch bigger fish. He also called it a potential path to U.S. citizenship for inmates.

Prince William County Police Chief Barry Barnard, who will retire as of July 1, doesn’t support the 287(g) program. He called it a barrier to being able to develop relationships with residents, possibly pending law enforcement investigations.

“We need to build trust with everyone in Prince William County, and we have a large immigration population. People tend to avoid the police because they don’t want to get caught up in case and risk being deported. Some don’t want to be witnesses… they may may in the country legally, but they may have family who may not be,” said Barnard.

Other jail board members echoed his statements, including Delegate Elizabeth Guzman (D-31, Dale City, Fauquier) who was appointed to the board by the Prince William Board of County Supervisors in May, and who in 2017 vowed to abolish the 287(g) program, the Prince William Times reported.

“We don’t like this program. It has created a division in our community. many poeple who look like us have left the county,” said Guzman.

“If you look at who benefits, other than ICE, I don’t see who benefits from the program,” said Raul Torres, Prince William County’s director of human rights.

“287(g) is just broken. The community has lost faith in it. This is an opportunity for you guys to send a message to your minority population — the black and brown people in your community — 287(g) has got to go,” said Tracey Lennox, a recently-appointed jail board member and president of the Prince William County Bar Association.

Currently, there are 125 counties across states that have 287(g) agreements in place. It’s estimated that about 3% of the arrests in Prince William County are suspected illegal immigrants, said Barnard. Manassas doesn’t track that data, added Keen.

“Many people come up to me and say they don’t want to be deported,” said Meletis. “I tell them, ‘don’t commit a crime locally.'”