McClellan Leads Virginia House Democrats to Oppose Proposed ICE Facilities in Hanover and Stafford Counties
Washington, D.C. – On Friday, January 30, Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan (VA-04) led her Virginia House Democratic colleagues, Representatives Bobby Scott (VA-03), Don Beyer (VA-08), Eugene Vindman (VA-07), Suhas Subramanyam (VA-10) and James Walkinshaw (VA-11), in sending a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Todd Lyons. The letter expressed fierce opposition to the proposed purchase of a 550,000 square-foot warehouse in Hanover County to serve as an ICE processing and intake facility, as well as the potential construction of a 10,000-bed warehouse detention center in Stafford County, Virginia.
“Since early last year, we have witnessed an increasingly aggressive and militant ICE under your leadership,” wrote the Members. “Most recently in Minneapolis, we have seen federal immigration agents kill two American citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, and injure dozens more. These reckless raids on our communities have resulted in the wrongful detention of hundreds of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents. … This disproportionate use of force is utterly unacceptable.”
ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have escalated their tactics in the last year, ranging from demands that individuals randomly show their IDs and verify their legal status when they are not suspected of any crime, to instigations of violence, to warrantless searches and entries into homes, businesses and schools. Combined with a refusal to cooperate with federal partners and allow for meaningful Congressional oversight, the activities of DHS have raised serious concerns for the safety of detainees and Virginians. Hanover County’s Board of Supervisors has asked DHS to reconsider its proposed facility. The Canadian-based company that owns the Hanover County warehouse has since backed out of the proposed sale.
“Across the nation, there have been reports of overcrowded detention facilities with poor ventilation, inadequate climate control, limited access to shower facilities and basic hygiene, and insufficient food and access to meals,” the Members continued. “We have seen this sort of gross negligence play out firsthand in the Commonwealth. In the summer of 2025, reports emerged of severe overcrowding, a lack of food and access to basic hygiene, and limited water supplies at ICE’s Washington Field Office in Chantilly, VA. ICE stonewalled attempts by our offices to gain access to the facility and conduct proper oversight, and it continues to prevent our offices from fully understanding what conditions were like during that period.”
Even after increased scrutiny into the presence of ICE agents in Virginia and beyond, culminating in articles of impeachment introduced against DHS Secretary Noem, questions remain as to the conditions of current ICE facilities and measures being taken to ensure the basic needs of detainees are being met. There is no guarantee that the proposed ICE facilities in Virginia would permit Members of Congress to hold DHS accountable for any lapses in quality of care and detention.
“Given this history of behavior, it is no surprise that we are alarmed by the prospect of siting two enormous ICE facilities in Virginia,” the Members concluded. “We do not want the Commonwealth to be home to large detention facilities rejected by our local communities, which make no one safer. Rather, these facilities undermine public safety, erode trust between local law enforcement and the public, and place a federal agency indifferent to constitutional liberties near our schools, hospitals, and residential areas. We refuse to allow the Commonwealth to be beholden to an agency that has repeatedly failed to demonstrate the transparency, restraint, and constitutional compliance the public and Congress are entitled to expect from law enforcement.”
Read the full letter here.