Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano’s policy of leniency toward immigrants has caused his prosecutors to regularly decline to pursue cases involving drunken driving, felony drug possession, shoplifting and grand larceny against migrants, according to a new congressional audit.
Investigators for the House Judiciary Committee said they found more than 100 previously unreported cases in which Mr. Descano’s office failed to prosecute or under-prosecuted cases against migrants. That included a Chinese migrant “serial fraudster” who had more than 50 charges dropped.
The audit, released Tuesday, tied those cases to Mr. Descano’s stated desire to protect immigrants from having to face deportation because of criminal behavior.
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Mr. Descano’s office admitted that his policy protects legal and illegal immigrants, the House report said.
Beyond Mr. Descano’s office, the county’s Board of Supervisors adopted a general policy of noncooperation with federal immigration enforcement, and the county sheriff, an independent elected authority, declined to notify U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement when it would release people ICE intended to deport.
The sheriff’s office declined to honor at least 448 deportation “detainer” requests in 2025, the House report said.
“Fairfax County’s sanctuary policies threaten public safety and undermine the safe and effective enforcement of federal immigration law,” the staff report concluded. “The lack of criminal prosecution and prohibition on ICE cooperation have already led to multiple deaths and injuries and will no doubt continue to result in tragic consequences in Fairfax County and beyond.”
Laura Birnbaum, Mr. Descano’s chief of staff, called the report “a desperate attempt to distract from widely anticipated Republican losses” in the upcoming congressional elections.
Ms. Birnbaum said the study contained “multiple falsehoods and distortions” and ignored records that challenged the narrative.
She didn’t detail which portions of the report she challenged but signaled it won’t change operations at the prosecutor’s office.
“Despite this ongoing series of attacks, we have remained laser-focused on keeping Fairfax County one of the safest large communities in the country, holding individuals accountable when they commit crimes and respecting the dignity of all members of our community,” Ms. Birnbaum said.
But County Sheriff Stacey Kincaid has criticized Mr. Descano’s office for a lax approach to prosecutions.
That included an illegal immigrant who had been charged with “violent felonies” whose case was suddenly dropped by Mr. Descano’s office. The immigrant was released and days later was charged with killing a man, Sheriff Kincaid said in a letter to the committee.
“As sheriff of Fairfax County, I have no say in the prosecution of any inmate,” Sheriff Kincaid wrote.
The report focused heavily on Mr. Descano. It quoted from his office policies that direct prosecutors to consider “immigration consequences” when deciding what charges to bring and to try to avoid instances where a certain conviction could trigger deportation.
His policy directed prosecutors to take into account “the detrimental impact that deportation/removal has on the families and communities those removed or deported leave behind.” It also acknowledged some crimes so serious that they “likely outweigh” the immigration factors.
In campaign materials, Mr. Descano said charging immigrants and citizens the same — when an immigrant could also face deportation — goes against “the values of Fairfax County.” He has since removed those campaign statements, saying they weren’t official policy.
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