Residents urge Alexandria to divest and demand public scrutiny of sheriff’s cooperation with ICE

Hundreds of residents packed the Alexandria City Hall public comment period to press the City Council to act on two related concerns: city investments in companies they say enable overseas and domestic human-rights abuses, and the sheriff’s detention practices that some speakers tied to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Speakers representing unions, faith groups, and neighborhood activists asked the council to add an “ethical investment” resolution to its docket that would screen city pensions and reserve funds for companies they say profit from weapons manufacture, surveillance technology and contracts that they link to abuses abroad and in U.S. immigration enforcement. Several spoke of Amazon, Alphabet and defense contractors and urged the city to divest public money from corporations they said ‘facilitate’ rights violations. John Lawrence, chair of the Juvenile Detention Commission, and other residents urged the council to consider the moral and budgetary consequences of continuing investments they see as incompatible with city values.

Public comment repeatedly returned to Sheriff Sean Casey’s voluntary cooperation with ICE. Multiple speakers asked the council to hold a public hearing in which the sheriff would explain the practices that have led to transfers to ICE custody and to answer whether his policies would change after high-profile incidents elsewhere. Commenters cited local Freedom of Information requests, recent increases in transfers to ICE, and national incidents they said demanded public accountability.

Council members acknowledged the concerns and said the council is limited in its authority to compel another elected official to appear; the sheriff is a constitutional officer. Several councilmembers suggested community‑led approaches and city‑staff follow-up on FOIA requests. No formal council action on an ethical investment resolution or a sheriff hearing was taken during the meeting; public speakers said they would continue to press the issue.

The comments were delivered during the formal public-comment time at the start of the meeting, before the council moved into its agenda items.