The U.S. Justice Department has launched a civil rights investigation into Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano. The DOJ stated that it is specifically investigating Descano’s plea bargaining, charging decisions, and sentencing policy.
According to the DOJ, its civil rights division “will investigate whether the Office of the Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney discriminated against United States citizens by offering preferential treatment only to illegal alien criminal defendants.”
“Under my leadership, the Civil Rights Division will not allow local prosecutors to pick and choose winners based on their immigration status,” DOJ Civil Rights Division Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said in a release. “This investigation will uncover whether this prosecutor is putting the community at risk in offering sweetheart deals to illegal immigrants charged with serious crimes.”
Descano’s office acknowledged receipt of the DOJ notification. “My policies are fair, legal, and reflect the values of my community,” Descano said in a statement.
Recent Immigrant Cases
Descano has been criticized for his handling of recent incidents involving immigrants. They include the murder of Fredericksburg resident Stephanie Minter, 41. Minter was stabbed to death in February at a Fairfax County bus stop. Abdul Jalloh, 32, was charged with the crime. According to the Department of Homeland Security, Jalloh had lived in the U.S. illegally for more than a decade and has an extensive criminal history with more than 30 arrests.
The DHS had also warned Fairfax County officials to not release Israel Flores-Ortiz, an unregistered immigrant from El Salvador. The 18-year-old student was sentenced to 360 days in April for assaulting several underage girls at Fairfax High School.
Descano and Fairfax County Sheriff Stacey Kincaid are currently scheduled to testify on May 14 before the House Judiciary subcommittee on immigration integrity, security and enforcement. Arlington County Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti has also been subpoenaed.
Feature image of Steve Descano courtesy AP Photo/Matthew Barakat
