If Arlington residents see immigration enforcement operating in the county, some local elected officials are advising them to call 911.
County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti and Board member Takis Karantonis encouraged calling the emergency number. De Ferranti noted at a meeting on Saturday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents “have no legal requirement to tell us when they come into our community.”
“It helps us know when ICE is in Arlington, so we can better pursue Arlington County’s law enforcement mission — preventing violence in our community,” he said.
De Ferranti argued that a lack of coordination with local law enforcement is part of a broader effort to sideline localities. He said he planned to bring forward, in coming weeks, “targeted and thoughtful” county resources for family members of those taken into custody or deported by the Trump administration.
“ICE’s approach is designed to provoke right now, and to seek out conflict,” he said.
At least 19 people have been removed from Arlington as part of ICE enforcement efforts, de Ferranti said. He opened the County Board meeting with discussion on this topic around 9:30 a.m., shortly before a federal immigration officer shot and killed a 37-year-old man in Minneapolis on Saturday morning.
There to speak on another matter during the public-comment period, retired Arlington County Police Department officer Gregg Kurasz said it would be better for residents to call the police non-emergency number — 703-558-2222 — rather than the emergency line.
“That would be more efficient” without losing time in getting a response, he said.
Karantonis disagreed.
“I would always call 911 when I see an ICE officer in my neighborhood — 911 is the best solution,” he said.
County Board member Susan Cunningham, meanwhile, suggested callers should use their best judgment when deciding which line to call.
“It goes to the same people. You just get queued a little differently,” she said.
Karantonis said the Trump administration seems intent on “converting law enforcement into a military intervention with all the trappings and appearance and posture of some sort of regime change.”
“This makes me very fearful,” Karantonis said, calling for “new innovative ways” to address the matter.
“I am not only fearful — I am afraid,” he said. “In a democracy, nobody should be afraid.”
Cunningham said it was important for the community to learn what role the county government can, and cannot, play in matters related to ICE efforts in Arlington.
“We cannot impede immigration activity. We cannot impede federal law enforcement. But we have a role in local law enforcement,” she said.
