Virginia County Approves Plan to Send Cash Payments to Families of Illegal Aliens Detained by ICE
In Arlington County, Virginia, it pays to be an illegal immigrant.
Arlington’s County Board will dole out $50,000 to a group called Arlington Thrive that can then be given away in grants up to $2,000 for any family with a main wage earner who has been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to Arlnow.
The 10-month project is designed to pay for housing, food, and utilities.
The 4-0 vote came in response to immigration enforcement actions that took place last month in the D.C. area.
🇺🇸 ONLY IN AMERICA — ARLINGTON EDITION 😂
ICE detains the primary breadwinner.
Arlington County responds:
“QUICK — GET THE CHECKBOOK!” 💸
$50,000 in county funds.
Up to $2,000 per affected family.Apparently even immigration enforcement comes with a local government rewards… pic.twitter.com/KNbBkSFkw4
— Cowboy Politics Podcast -Unapologetic Conservative (@CowboyPolitics_) September 9, 2026
“We stand with our immigrant families, and we will not stop doing so,” Board Chair Matt de Ferranti said. “We are valuing the families of those that have been displaced and removed.”
“A lot of these families are unbanked,” County Manager Mark Schwartz said.
“This investment in our families is about the urgency we have seen in our community in the last month,” de Ferranti said, according to WJLA-TV.
“And we are going to respond with care, and we are going to respond proudly. That’s what this $50,000 is toward with Thrive,” he said.
Former Acting ICE Director Jonathan Fahey said the action is marginally legal.
“Arlington County is putting aside money for presumably people that are not even legal in the country, as opposed to giving it to Arlington County residents or American citizens,” he said.
“But I think the one thing that’s really interesting about what they’re doing here, there’s this alien harboring statute, a federal statute that makes it illegal to do something that induces or encourages someone to come to the country illegally or to reside in the country illegally, and I think Arlington County has a real problem with that statute,” he added.
Fahey said the action makes Arlington County more attractive to illegal immigrants.
“They’re going to induce more illegal aliens into Arlington County, which will also cost the taxpayers even more money,” he noted.
“There’s probably so many things that could be done that are better for the taxpayers and the residents and the legal residents of Arlington County,” he said.
The giveaway builds on the county’s history of supporting illegal immigrants.
Last year, the board voted to prevent Arlington police officers from contacting ICE if they arrest either terrorists or gang members who are illegally in the U.S.
“What’s really scary about this, as we’re getting up to the 9/11 anniversary, one of the biggest lessons from 9/11 we’ve learned in terms of law enforcement is the ability to share information between state and local law enforcement is really required for any sort of effective law enforcement,” Fahey continued.
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