U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary
08/24/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/24/2026 15:47
Chairmen Jordan and McClintock Demand Answers from Sanctuary Jurisdiction DAs
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Chairman Tom McClintock (R-CA) sent letters to Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Steve Descano and Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz reiterating the Committee's requests for information on their offices' sanctuary policies and preferential treatment given to foreign nationals.
Sanctuary jurisdictions like Fairfax County and New York City flouting immigration law clearly involves federal interests. Failing to prosecute or under-prosecuting foreign nationals so that immigration consequences can be avoided implicates Congress's plenary power over immigration, which the Supreme Court repeatedly has described as the authority "to make rules for the admission of aliens and to exclude those who possess those characteristics which Congress has forbidden." Descano's and Katz's pro-criminal alien policies appear intentionally designed to thwart this authority.
Even after appearing before the Immigration Subcommittee at a hearing in May 2026, Descano still refuses to answer the Committee's basic questions about his policies in practice. Descano's new effort to minimize both the scope and the effects of his office's collateral immigration consequences policy is a surprising reversal after years of him boasting about the policy on his public campaign website. For years, in fact, Descano promised Fairfax County voters that his office would, "[w]herever possible . . . take immigration consequences into account when making charging and plea decisions." To date, Descano has been unwilling to identify the cases in which his office followed his own campaign promises and written policy. Katz's office has not provided any rationale for why it is not possible to provide documents and communications related even to a single employee, the office's Immigration Specialist, or materials related to certain foreign nationals' cases-the same cases it has boasted about in public reports. Because of the lack of cooperation from Descano's and Katz's offices with the Committee's requests, the Committee is unable to know the true scope of their policies or the full extent of their damaging effects on northern Virginia and New York City communities.
Read the letter to Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Steve Descano here.
Read the letter to Queens DA Melinda Katz here.
Sanctuary jurisdictions like Fairfax County and New York City flouting immigration law clearly involves federal interests. Failing to prosecute or under-prosecuting foreign nationals so that immigration consequences can be avoided implicates Congress's plenary power over immigration, which the Supreme Court repeatedly has described as the authority "to make rules for the admission of aliens and to exclude those who possess those characteristics which Congress has forbidden." Descano's and Katz's pro-criminal alien policies appear intentionally designed to thwart this authority.
Even after appearing before the Immigration Subcommittee at a hearing in May 2026, Descano still refuses to answer the Committee's basic questions about his policies in practice. Descano's new effort to minimize both the scope and the effects of his office's collateral immigration consequences policy is a surprising reversal after years of him boasting about the policy on his public campaign website. For years, in fact, Descano promised Fairfax County voters that his office would, "[w]herever possible . . . take immigration consequences into account when making charging and plea decisions." To date, Descano has been unwilling to identify the cases in which his office followed his own campaign promises and written policy. Katz's office has not provided any rationale for why it is not possible to provide documents and communications related even to a single employee, the office's Immigration Specialist, or materials related to certain foreign nationals' cases-the same cases it has boasted about in public reports. Because of the lack of cooperation from Descano's and Katz's offices with the Committee's requests, the Committee is unable to know the true scope of their policies or the full extent of their damaging effects on northern Virginia and New York City communities.
Read the letter to Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Steve Descano here.
Read the letter to Queens DA Melinda Katz here.
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