An ICE arrest detainer (often just called an immigration detainer) is a written request from ICE asking a jail, prison, or police agency to: (1) notify ICE before releasing a person ICE believes is removable, and (2) hold that person for up to 48 hours beyond the time they would otherwise be released so ICE has time to take them into immigration custody, under 8 C.F.R. § 287.7. ICE’s own policy now states that detainers are “only requests” and “don’t impose any obligations on law enforcement agencies,” even though the regulation describes a 48‑hour hold. Honoring a detainer therefore usually does result in a transfer of custody to ICE if ICE arrives within that window, but federal law does not require a local jurisdiction to comply or to transfer custody; cooperation is voluntary unless state law separately requires it.
DHS calls Fairfax County a “sanctuary jurisdiction” because county policies significantly limit voluntary cooperation with ICE. In 2021 the Board of Supervisors adopted a Public Trust and Confidentiality Policy (“Trust Policy”) that sets county‑wide rules to protect immigrants’ information and explicitly aims to let immigrant residents use county services without fear their data will be shared with federal immigration authorities, except where state or federal law, a judicial warrant, or a court order requires it. Local reporting notes that the Fairfax County Police Department follows this Trust Policy and that it “largely doesn’t allow Fairfax County police to contact ICE.” The Sheriff’s Office terminated a prior agreement with ICE in 2018 and now says it will hold people past their release date only if there is a court‑ordered criminal warrant, “but not solely based on the civil administrative detainers usually submitted by ICE.” As a result, ICE is notified when someone is booked, but Fairfax generally does not extend detention or initiate extra contact with ICE unless legally compelled, which is why DHS and the Trump administration classify it as “sanctuary.”
In the DHS Reston press release, saying the Biden administration “dismissed his immigration proceedings” means DHS attorneys used prosecutorial discretion to ask the immigration court to end (dismiss/terminate) Morales‑Ortez’s deportation case, so at that point there was no active removal case or removal order against him, even though he remained a removable noncitizen. Calling him a “non‑enforcement priority” refers to DHS’s civil‑immigration enforcement guidelines issued in 2021, which direct officers to focus limited resources on noncitizens who are threats to national security, public safety, or border security and to generally not expend resources on people who do not fall into those categories. In plain terms, he was treated as someone ICE would not normally seek to arrest or remove unless new, serious conduct brought him back into a priority category.
Tricia McLaughlin is the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the Department of Homeland Security. Her official DHS biography explains that she oversees DHS’s public outreach and its media, digital, strategic and crisis communications, and serves as the Secretary’s principal advisor on all internal and external communications. That position gives her authority to speak for the department and shape how DHS policies are presented, but it does not give her independent legal power to order state or local law‑enforcement agencies to honor ICE detainers. Detainer authority and limits come from federal immigration statutes and regulations such as 8 C.F.R. § 287.7, and ICE itself states that detainers are “only requests” that “don’t impose any obligations” on local agencies, so her statements are a form of political and public pressure rather than binding directives on local departments.
The Victims Of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office is an ICE office created to “acknowledge and serve the needs of victims and families who have been affected by crimes committed by individuals with a nexus to immigration violations.” Its toll‑free hotline, 1‑855‑48‑VOICE (1‑855‑488‑6423), operates 8 a.m.–8 p.m. Eastern. According to ICE, VOICE can: explain what immigration and case information can be shared about an offender; help victims understand the immigration enforcement and removal process; register victims for automated custody‑status alerts through the DHS‑VINE notification system; provide or connect callers to social‑service and victim‑assistance resources; share local contacts and referrals; and, when allowed by law, provide additional criminal or immigration history about the offender. The Office for Victims of Crime similarly describes VOICE as a comprehensive support and referral resource for people victimized by “criminal illegal aliens,” not a general crime‑tip or emergency line.
If a local jail or police department refuses an ICE detainer, ICE cannot compel that agency to keep holding the person; ICE’s own guidance says an agency “may not lawfully hold an individual beyond the 48-hour period” if ICE does not assume custody, and detainers are “only requests” that impose no legal obligation on local agencies. Once the person is released, ICE still has its independent federal authority to arrest removable noncitizens under the Immigration and Nationality Act, so officers can “pursue the alien in the community” and conduct an at‑large immigration arrest. If ICE has or later obtains an administrative arrest warrant or a final removal order, it can use that to detain the person directly, or it can seek federal criminal charges (for example, for illegal re‑entry) and obtain a judicial criminal warrant. ICE can also file new detainers if the person is arrested again in a jurisdiction that chooses to honor such requests. The key limit is that, after the local criminal basis for custody ends and the jurisdiction declines the detainer, any further detention must come from ICE’s own arrest and detention authority under federal law, not from the local jail extending custody solely on ICE’s request.