Arlington County Chair Urges Residents to Call 911 When ICE Is Spotted

At this week’s Arlington County Board meeting in Northern Virginia, Board Chair Matt de Ferranti told residents to call 911 whenever they see Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers operating in the community, framing the move as a way for local officials to track ICE activity and "prevent violence" while reminding the public that county law bars local police and residents from helping enforce federal immigration law. De Ferranti, a Democrat, praised new Gov. Abigail Spanberger for rescinding former Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s 287(g) cooperation agreement with DHS, and attacked ICE tactics as "designed to provoke and seek out conflict" by going door-to-door for undocumented people. The guidance comes after Arlington officials last year refused to honor an ICE detainer on David Cabrera, a twice‑deported Guatemalan national and convicted rapist, a case that drew sharp criticism from ICE Director Todd Lyons when the county released him from its jail. Arlington, a wealthy, densely populated suburb directly across the Potomac from Washington, has long been a Democratic stronghold and sanctuary‑style jurisdiction, and this latest directive underscores how some local governments are not only refusing to cooperate with ICE but actively encouraging residents to treat immigration agents as potential threats worth reporting to 911. The move is already feeding online debate over whether using emergency lines to flag federal officers endangers public safety, violates the spirit of federal supremacy, or is a legitimate local response to Trump‑era interior enforcement surges.