Virginia public-safety chiefs tell House panel they are coordinating with federal partners and preparing for possible repatriations through Dulles
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Summary
State public-safety and social-services officials told the House Public Safety Committee they are coordinating with federal and regional partners through task forces and the Virginia Fusion Center, urged cyber readiness, and said Dulles is the designated port of entry for potential repatriations though formal federal notice and flight details are "imminent" but not yet received.
The House Public Safety Committee heard from state officials about how recent Middle East developments could affect Virginia, with Secretary of Public Safety Stanley Meador describing intelligence-sharing through FBI-led task forces and the Virginia State Police fusion center and Secretary Figueroa saying Dulles Airport is the designated port of entry for anticipated repatriation flights.
Meador told delegates the state is "engaged on multiple levels" with local, state and federal partners, including state police representation on the joint terrorism task force and participation in monthly fusion center meetings where police chiefs, sheriffs and critical-infrastructure representatives share threat information. "We don't have anything that is Virginia-centric in the threat space specifically," Meador said, but added that the Commonwealth should remain in "a state of preparedness."
Why it matters: state and local agencies are positioning to receive intelligence and respond rapidly if indicators change, provide guidance to businesses and communities on cyber resilience, and stand ready to receive evacuees should the federal government move forward with repatriation operations.
Meador urged organizations to review incident-response plans and asked business and community leaders to ask themselves "if you came into your business today and you were completely shut down, what would you do?" He pointed committee members to the Virginia Fusion Center website for suspicious-activity reporting and to the federal IC3.gov portal for cyber complaints.
On repatriation, Secretary Figueroa said the federal government intends to send Virginia a formal letter designating Dulles Airport as a reception point but had not yet provided the number of flights or passengers. "What we don't know at the moment is the number of flights, the number of people, but we do know that it is imminent," Figueroa said, adding that the state would set up an emergency repatriation center to conduct intake, screenings and temporary lodging once the federal notice arrives and the governor assesses state capacity.
Delegates pressed whether clearing stations would already be standing up; officials said past evacuations used processing stations at Dulles and that the state can provide similar reception functions but must await formal federal direction. Meador asked delegates to amplify "see something, say something" in their districts and to share fusion-center reporting links so law enforcement can act on tips.
The committee requested that the secretaries compile and deliver links and resources (fusion center reporting, cyber resources and guidance) to the committee for distribution to localities. Meador agreed to provide that packet.
The committee did not take formal action on these items during the hearing; officials said they would return with any additional details after receiving federal notifications.