ICE | ALXnow

ACPS board member Booz visits Minneapolis to create ICE response resources for schools

Published February 20, 2026 at 12:00PM | Updated February 20, 2026 at 4:59PM

Alexandria School Board Member Kelly Carmichael Booz in Minneapolis, Minnesota (courtesy image)

Alexandria City School Board member Kelly Carmichael Booz visited Minnesota last week as part of a project to inform educators on how to respond to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity.

Booz, who is from Minneapolis, visited the Twin Cities from Feb. 9-13, in the wake of the fatal ICE shootings of U.S. citizens Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good and the widely reported drawdown of ICE agents there. Her project, a report for the American Federation of Teachers, aims to offer “resources and trainings” for school districts and unions on what to do when ICE enters their communities, she told ALXnow.

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Proposals to limit ICE activity and more Alexandria-supported bills advance in General Assembly

By Emily Leayman

Published February 11, 2026 at 2:30PM

Wendy Ginsberg, the City of Alexandria's legislative director, provided a mid-session General Assembly update to City Council (via City of Alexandria)

As the General Assembly reaches mid-session, the City of Alexandria is supporting nearly 400 proposed bills, including restrictions on immigration enforcement.

Wendy Ginsberg, the city’s legislative director, provided a mid-session General Assembly update to City Council yesterday (Tuesday). According to Ginsberg, city staff have reviewed 584 bills for potential impacts to the city. During the presentation, Councilman Abdel Elnoubi requested an update on the immigration enforcement-related bills, which Ginsberg said are continuing to make progress.

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Old Town protestors rally against Citizens Bank for dealings with ICE detention center contractor

By James Cullum

Published February 6, 2026 at 3:30PM

A protest outside Citizens Bank in Old Town, Feb. 6, 2026 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Cries of “shame” rang out this afternoon (Friday) outside Citizens Bank near the King Street-Old Town Metro Station, as dozens of protestors rebuked the bank’s ties to U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.

The group made speeches, sang songs and held signs condemning the bank for extending a $500 million line of credit to The GEO Group, a Florida-based international private prison operator that has more than $700 million in contract obligations with ICE.

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Trump signs bill to end partial shutdown as Democrats continue push for ICE reform

By The Associated Press

Published February 3, 2026 at 5:05PM

The Capitol is seen under gray skies on the thirteenth day of the government shutdown, in Washington, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

President Donald Trump signed a roughly $1.2 trillion government funding bill Tuesday that ends the partial federal shutdown that began over the weekend and sets the stage for an intense debate in Congress over Homeland Security funding.

The president moved quickly to sign the bill after the House approved it with a 217-214 vote.

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NEW: Alexandria joins coalition challenging ICE deployment in Minnesota

By Katie Taranto

Published January 23, 2026 at 5:00PM | Updated January 23, 2026 at 5:50PM

People protest against Federal immigration agents on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

Alexandria is one of more than 80 local governments and leaders to join a coalition challenging the Trump administration’s recent surge of federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota.

The coalition, co-led by Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, has filed an amicus brief arguing that Trump’s deployment of more than 3,000 armed ICE agents to Minnesota — called “Operation Metro Surge” — is unconstitutional. Along with Alexandria, signatories include the governments of major cities like Chicago, Los Angeles and Seattle, alongside legal nonprofit Public Rights Project.

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Hundreds gather in Alexandria to protest ICE after fatal Minneapolis shooting

By Katie Taranto

Published January 12, 2026 at 10:00AM

Anti-ICE protestors line Mount Vernon Avenue for an "ICE Out For Good" protest Jan. 11, 2026 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Hundreds of people gathered in Alexandria yesterday (Sunday) to protest federal immigration enforcement, days after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis.

Demonstrators displayed anti-ICE signs and American flags along Mount Vernon Avenue at Four Mile Run Park Plaza, earning loud honks from passersby throughout the afternoon. They chanted “ICE Out For Good” while memorializing Renee Good, joining at least 1,000 similar protests nationwide by the organizing group Indivisible.

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Federal judge in Alexandria orders release of three immigrants arrested by ICE

By James Cullum

Published November 13, 2025 at 2:45PM

The statue of Justice outside the Albert V. Bryan United States Courthouse in Alexandria (staff photo by James Cullum)

A federal judge in Alexandria this week ordered the release of three young male immigrants from United States custody as part of a class action lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia.

In the case Sarmiento et al. v. Perry et al., it was announced Tuesday that two brothers from El Salvador, ages 19 and 20, were ordered to be released by U.S. District Court Judge Anthony J. Trenga, following their ICE arrests in Stafford County this past August.

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Mayor Gaskins, City Council ask sheriff to cease voluntary inmate transfers to ICE

By Katie Taranto

Published November 13, 2025 at 9:00AM | Updated November 13, 2025 at 9:33AM

A letter signed by 26 local organizations and leaders demanding Sheriff Sean Casey end voluntary collaboration with ICE was delivered to the Alexandria Sheriff's Office on Tuesday. (Courtesy ICE Out of Alexandria)

Mayor Alyia Gaskins and the City Council are calling on the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office to stop transferring inmates to immigration enforcement unless required by law.

Following months of pressure from activists critical of Immigration and Customs Enforcement — including a protest during an Oct. 18 public hearing — Gaskins and the Council publicly asked Sheriff Sean Casey to stop transferring Alexandria inmates to ICE custody via the agency’s detainers and administrative warrants.

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Activists deliver letter demanding Sheriff Casey end ICE cooperation

By Ryan Belmore

Published October 21, 2025 at 4:15PM

A letter signed by 26 local organizations and leaders demanding Sheriff Sean Casey end voluntary collaboration with ICE was delivered to the Alexandria Sheriff's Office on Tuesday. (Courtesy ICE Out of Alexandria)

A coalition of Alexandria residents and community organizations delivered a letter to Sheriff Sean Casey on Tuesday, demanding that he stop his voluntary collaboration with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

ICE Out of Alexandria, representing 26 local groups and leaders, held a rally and press conference at the sheriff’s office at 2001 Mill Road to present their demands, according to a press release from the group.

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ICE announces arrest in Alexandria of man officials say is wanted MS-13 leader in El Salvador

By Ryan Belmore

Published October 17, 2025 at 8:45AM

Ismael Enrique Mendoza Flores (via Homeland Security)

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced Thursday it arrested a man federal officials identify as an MS-13 gang leader wanted for murder in El Salvador during an operation in Alexandria on October 2.

According to the ICE press release, Ismael Enrique Mendoza Flores, also known as “El Calaco,” faces an active arrest warrant in El Salvador for aggravated homicide and illicit associations. ICE states he appears on the Salvadoran National Police’s “Most Wanted Gang Members” list, though the agency did not provide documentation or a link to verify this listing.

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Community leaders condemn ICE arrests of construction workers in Alexandria’s Chirilagua neighborhood

By Ryan Belmore

Published August 18, 2025 at 6:35PM | Updated August 19, 2025 at 2:54PM

Mayor Alyia Gaskins speaks at community gathering (Staff photo by Ryan Belmore)

Federal immigration agents arrested 15 construction workers at an Alexandria apartment complex Monday afternoon, sparking an evening community rally where city officials and residents denounced the enforcement action.

The arrests occurred at Eaton Square Apartments on Florence Drive in the Chirilagua neighborhood while the men were working on a roofing project, according to Evelin Urrutia, executive director of Tenants and Workers United. The timing coincided with the first day of school in Alexandria, heightening community concerns about children’s safety.