Arlington County, Virginia — the bedroom community sitting directly across the Potomac from Washington, D.C. — just appropriated $50,000 in taxpayer funds to write $2,000 checks to families of illegal immigrants detained by ICE. The county board voted 4-0 at a special September 2 meeting. Not a single dissenting vote.
No proof of legal work authorization required.
The program works like this: the money flows through an NGO called Arlington Thrive, which plans to distribute debit cards and checks to between 25 and 30 families whose "primary wage earner" was picked up in last month's massive ICE sweep across the D.C. suburbs. That operation netted more than 1,300 illegal immigrants over 14 days — roughly 400 of whom had criminal convictions or pending charges including rape, sexual assault, kidnapping, robbery, attempted murder, and an outstanding murder warrant for a Salvadoran national wanted in Richmond.
Arlington County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti was practically glowing about it. "We stand with our immigrant families, and we will not stop doing so," he said. "We are valuing the families of those that have been displaced and removed."
Displaced. Removed. Those are interesting words for "arrested for being in the country illegally." De Ferranti added that "this investment in our families is about the urgency we have seen in our community in the last month. And we are going to respond with care and we are going to respond proudly."
Board Vice Chair Maureen Coffey matched his enthusiasm. "Ensuring that we take care of our community and our residents and our people does mean making sure that we have emergency assistance available for what is probably one of the most challenging situations that you could possibly face," she said. "I'm very proud of us for doing this."
One of the most challenging situations you could possibly face. Getting detained by federal law enforcement for violating immigration law now apparently ranks alongside natural disasters and terminal illness on the Arlington County hardship scale.
Former Acting ICE Director Jonathan Fahey, a former federal prosecutor, offered a different perspective on the arrangement. "Arlington County is putting aside money for presumably people that are not even legal in the country, as opposed to giving it to Arlington County residents or American citizens," Fahey said. "There's probably so many things that could be done that are better for the taxpayers and the residents and the legal residents of Arlington County."
Elizabeth Matlock, a staff member in the county manager's office coordinating the effort, confirmed that Arlington Thrive "is eager to get started with this project." Eager. The word you use when you can't wait to hand out other people's money.
The funding mechanism tells you everything you need to know about priorities. Arlington Thrive's backers include the Washington Forest Foundation, the Kaiser Foundation, and United Way — organizations that presumably exist to help people facing legitimate hardship. Now their infrastructure is being repurposed to cushion the consequences of federal immigration enforcement. Not for citizens who lost a job. Not for veterans struggling with housing. For families whose breadwinner got caught breaking the law.
And the 4-0 vote means this wasn't a close call. Not a single board member looked at the proposal — taxpayer-funded payments to families of detained illegal immigrants, no proof of legal status required, distributed via debit cards — and thought maybe the residents footing the bill deserved a say.
Arlington County's median household income is north of $130,000. It's one of the wealthiest counties in America. The board members voting to spend $50,000 on this program will never feel the pinch. The grocery clerk in Falls Church working two shifts to cover rent? Different story.