Rep. Jennifer McClellan, D-VA04, is seeking answers from federal immigration officials after agents detained individuals at the Chesterfield County Courthouse last month — a practice local officials warn is undermining public safety.
McClellan sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Todd Lyons, expressing concerns after 15 individuals were detained at the courthouse last month.
“I write to express my alarm at the recent presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at the Chesterfield County Courthouse,” McClellan wrote in her letter.
While President Donald Trump, Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Attorney General Jason Miyares have said that the individuals being detained by ICE are all violent criminals, documents show the majority of detainments are of individuals with civil and traffic violations.
10 of the 15 detainments at Chesterfield Courthouse in late June were there for traffic violations. Two of the 15 detained individuals faced charges for violent crimes in the past, but neither was convicted, according to a FOIA from WTVR.
“Those seeking to stay in compliance with the laws should not be subject to arbitrary arrest and detention.” McClellan wrote in the letter.
The latest census data shows that 12% of Chesterfield County’s nearly 400,000 residents are Hispanic — roughly the same as the combined number of Hispanic residents in Richmond and Henrico County. Hispanic immigrants make up the largest undocumented immigrant population in the United States.
Chesterfield Sheriff Karl Leonard, who runs the courthouse but cannot stop ICE from operating inside of it, expressed concerns to Virginia Scope last month that victims would not receive justice because of witnesses being afraid to show up to court out of fear of being detained by ICE.
McClellan echoed that sentiment in her letter.
“Your actions hinder public safety rather than protect it,” she wrote. “In Richmond’s Southwood neighborhood, a predominantly Latino community, the police department reports a 34 percent drop in 911 calls, directly linked to heightened ICE activity. Local law enforcement is alarmed by the chilling effect this has had on community members’ willingness to report crimes or cooperate with investigators.”
“By barging into courthouses, like what took place in Chesterfield, ICE exacerbates this problem and undermines the security of communities like mine across the nation,” she continued.
Leonard said his deputies are not physically assisting with ICE’s detainments of undocumented immigrants. However, they are helping lead the ICE targets into rooms between courtrooms after their hearings.
The ICE officers are not detaining people in public areas, a condition Leonard said he requested to avoid a situation similar to one that recently occurred in Charlottesville. Two ICE officers made public detainments there, spurring protests in April.
The alleged ICE officers in Chesterfield would not identify themselves when asked by Virginia Scope at the courthouse in June. When a Richmond Times-Dispatch reporter attempted to question them, they responded, “I don’t know why you think you can talk to us and ask us questions.”
Leonard said ICE officers are not required to identify themselves, though they do present their credentials to his deputies upon arrival each morning.
McClellan is asking federal officials to explain how ICE agents are identifying targets at the courthouse, whether those detained are receiving due process, and what safeguards are in place to prevent the wrongful detention of legal residents or citizens. She also pressed for details on how many remain in custody and whether dependents are receiving proper care.
Her letter underscores rising concern that immigration enforcement in courtrooms is putting justice — and community trust — at risk.