Arlington Leaders Urge 911 Calls Over ICE Presence

Clear Facts

• Arlington County Board chair Matt de Ferranti and board member Takis Karantonis encouraged residents to call 911 if they notice ICE officers in the community.
• De Ferranti emphasized their responsibility to protect neighbors and reduce harm, mentioning civilians fatally shot by ICE, including Renee Good.
• Retired police officer Gregg Kurasz advised using the non-emergency line, but Karantonis insisted he would always call 911 when seeing ICE officers nearby.

During a weekend board meeting, Democratic leaders in Arlington County, Virginia asked residents to report any sightings of ICE officers by calling the emergency 911 number.

Board chair Matt de Ferranti called for a moment of silence for civilians killed by ICE agents and cited responsibility to protect local communities.

“To be clear, the law prohibits our public safety professionals and all of us from interfering with the enforcement of federal immigration law,” said de Ferranti.

He added, “That said our responsibility is not just to follow the law but to do everything possible within it to protect our neighbors and reduce harm. That means working together to call 911 when we see ICE in our community.”

De Ferranti also stated, “Calling 911 is important because it helps us know when ICE is in Arlington so we can better pursue Arlington County’s law enforcement mission, preventing violence in our community.”

Retired officer Gregg Kurasz warned that 911 could be overwhelmed and suggested reporting ICE sightings to the non-emergency line instead.

Karantonis disagreed, explaining he would always use 911 if he encountered ICE officers in his neighborhood.

“There is nothing in the nation that suggests to me that something very bad will happen when these people [ICE officers] show up, not only directly because of their actions but also for the collateral consequences,” Karantonis said.

He added, “We had people having heart attack[s] here because somebody three doors down the stairs, down stairs in a building has kicked in a door. So 911 is the best solution right now.”

Some Democrat politicians have spoken against ICE after recent incidents, but others like Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania support the agency and reject calls to defund it.

The Department of Homeland Security did not comment on the Arlington board’s statements.

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