Rep. McClellan says ICE arrests at courthouses are making Virginia less safe

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Virginia Democratic Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan (VA-04) says actions taken by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at courthouses are making Virginia less safe.

“You can’t have liberty and justice for all when you have brown and Spanish-speaking people afraid to come to court,” McClellan told reporters on Monday outside the Chesterfield County Courthouse, where at least 15 people have been detained by ICE since June.

McClellan made the remarks after meeting with some county officials, including the Clerk of Courts, Amanda Pohl. 

McClellan said in several cases, many of the people arrested at courthouses aren’t dangerous criminals, but rather people showing up to court for traffic infractions. 

“Being an undocumented immigrant in it of itself is not a crime, and the dehumanization that this administration is doing, trying to paint with a broad brush, every undocumented immigrant and citizens, U.S. citizens, that they are trying to rewrite the constitution to claim are not, and painting them all with a broad brush of being hardened criminals is wrong and is un-American,” McClellan said.

McClellan added that ICE’s actions at courthouses are leading to people refusing to report crimes, or refusing to show up to the courthouse altogether, regardless of whether they are citizens or not. 

“I have heard that there are translators who are afraid to come and do their job because they don’t know if the wrong person hears them, are they are gonna get swept up in all of this,” McClellan said. “Domestic violence advocates are very concerned that people they know are in abusive relationships are not reporting it because they’re afraid of what could happen to them or their partner.” 

Earlier this month, McClellan sent a letter to the leaders of the Department of Homeland Security and ICE outlining her concerns. As of Monday, McClellan says she hasn’t heard back. 

8News reached out to Republican Congressman Rob Wittman (VA-01), who also represents parts of Chesterfield County, and asked whether he supports ICE arrests at courthouses, but did not hear back. 

We also asked Governor Glenn Youngkin’s office about McClellan’s concerns about people being less likely to report crimes. Youngkin’s office pointed us to his previous comments, when he said, “This is the same misguided argument that we hear from folks that want to support sanctuary cities. That, in fact, when there is someone who has broken the law, who is here illegally, when they are, in fact, arrested, that it does something to make neighborhoods less safe. And it just doesn’t hold water.”