Immigration attorney weighs in after ICE detains 15 at Chesterfield Courthouse

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- Over a month after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained 15 people at the Chesterfield County Courthouse, many families still don’t know where their loved ones are.

An immigration attorney is raising concerns about how and why the arrests happened, and what they might signal for the future of immigration enforcement in Virginia.

According to court records reviewed by 8News, 10 of the individuals detained in June had appeared in court for traffic-related offenses.

The remaining five, were facing criminal charges including assault on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest and public intoxication.

All 15 were taken into ICE custody immediately after their hearings, according to the Chesterfield County Sheriff’s Office.

Miriam Airington-Fisher, an immigration attorney with nearly 20 years of experience, said she spoke with families of several detainees.

Though she is not representing the individuals, she says the circumstances surrounding their arrests raise red flags and leave many questions unanswered.

“My husband just got dragged away—I don’t know who took him, I don’t know where he is, we’re getting calls like that,” she said.

ICE previously said the arrests were related to immigration violations. But Airington-Fisher believes federal agents used public court dockets to identify non-citizen names and target them, which is a practice she says is both disturbing and strategic.

"Whereas before there were sort of these sacred grounds, now ICE officers can go into these spaces, and, you know, arrest people," Airington-Fisher said. "And so the courthouse is an easy place to find people.”

She says such tactics conflict with ICE’s stated priorities to focus on those convicted of serious or violent crimes.

“The administration is saying that they’re arresting violent criminals, but there’s literally not enough non-citizen violent criminals to meet those quotas, so they have to go outside of that,” she described.

The arrests, which took place over four days, have drawn widespread criticism from immigration advocates and some county officials.

Protesters gathered outside the courthouse in June, calling the detentions unjust and demanding more transparency.

Airington-Fisher says the lack of information about the detainees is troubling. As of mid-July, none of the 15 individuals have appeared in ICE’s online detainee locator — a delay she says is highly unusual.

“It could be days before they’re even entered into the system, or they may have been pressured into signing deportation paperwork, and waived their rights without even knowing it,” she said.

“People don’t even realize they’re signing--agreeing to deportation, even where they may have eligibility for immigration status.”

She adds that many of those arrested were likely expecting to attend a routine court hearing, not to be taken into federal custody.

“Typically a traffic docket--it’s not a place where you expect a ruckus of law enforcement agents grabbing people and dragging them out.”

Airington-Fisher worries these detentions may signal a broader shift in immigration enforcement, one that could strip away protections and trust in public institutions.

“There’s a deeper question we need to ask — who are we as a country? Are we still the nation of immigrants we’ve always claimed to be?”

For now, families are left in limbo, making phone calls, checking databases, and waiting for answers that have yet to come.