House Judiciary Committee alleges preferential treatment for noncitizens

The House Judiciary Committee and its Immigration Subcommittee have released a report accusing local prosecutors in several jurisdictions, including Virginia, Colorado, and Pennsylvania, of providing preferential treatment to noncitizen defendants to avoid immigration consequences.

The report specifically targets Arlington County, Virginia, Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti, alleging she obstructs federal immigration enforcement. Testimony indicated a policy in her office to alter outcomes for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients charged with Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) to prevent them from losing their status.

Congressional investigators claim these sanctuary policies allow foreign nationals to avoid accountability that U.S. citizens might otherwise face. Additionally, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) data cited in the report shows that sanctuary jurisdictions declined at least 41,085 immigration detainers between October 2022 and early 2026.