Dozens of residents and local advocates used the public discussion period to press the Alexandria City Council to take a public stand against voluntary transfers by the Alexandria Sheriff's Office to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Jonathan Kroll of Grassroots Alexandria told the council the community is "under so much stress" because of ICE activity and said community members have set up rapid response networks. "We must all stand with Alexandria instead of with ICE," he said. Several other speakers — including religious leaders, organizers and service providers — described community fear after recent transfers and called on the council to persuade Sheriff Sean Casey to stop what they described as voluntary cooperation.

Speakers repeatedly asserted the sheriff's office holds people beyond their scheduled release times to enable ICE custody transfers. Oliver Merino of the Immigrant Legal Resource Center told the council the sheriff's practice is voluntary and not legally required absent a judicial warrant, citing attorneys from ACLU of Virginia, the Legal Aid Justice Center and ILRC as sources. Merino said "40 people this year as of August" had been transferred to ICE custody, citing the sheriff's own website.

Several speakers proposed policy approaches used in other U.S. cities, including executive orders or signage to restrict federal agents' use of city property for civil immigration enforcement, as Chicago recently adopted for certain properties. Council members indicated they will explore possible responses: one councilmember said they would share model language and that the City Attorney's office had been asked to look into the legal authority for local measures.

No formal resolution or directive to the sheriff was taken at the meeting; council discussion centered on staff research into legal authority and possible next steps. Staff and several council members said they had met with the sheriff previously; some council members expressed willingness to consider further action if it is legally available to the city.

Speakers at the meeting included organizers, pastors, service providers and community members who described neighborhood-level steps to protect families and urged the council to make its position public.