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Democratic Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger is taking heat for telling the Department of Homeland Security that if it wants to take custody of an illegal immigrant facing state murder charges, the department should obtain a judicial warrant, a document that critics and legal experts say is irrelevant in this particular case.
White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said judicial warrants were not applicable for Abdul Jalloh, a Sierra Leone national who allegedly stabbed 41-year-old Fredericksburg mother Stephanie Minter to death at a bus stop in February.
Miller was among several Republicans to criticize Spanberger in a clash that underscored a broader battle between DHS and so-called sanctuary states and cities. The administration has argued that Democratic leaders of those jurisdictions are resisting cooperating with DHS, leading to violent criminals being released onto the streets, while Democrats say their policies are in place to enhance public safety.
Judicial warrants “have nothing to do with deportation,” Miller wrote on X Monday. “Zero. Nothing.”
White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller speaks during a press briefing at the White House, May 1, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
“The system for deporting criminal aliens from state custody is, and always has been, ICE requesting a custody transfer prior to release,” Miller said. “Thousands of criminals are removed every week through this system. In Sanctuary cities/states, criminal aliens are simply set free to maim and murder.”
Federal government authorities can obtain judicial warrants from a court when there is probable cause that a federal crime was committed and are not used in civil immigration proceedings.
Andrew Arthur, a law and policy fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, told Fox News Digital that under immigration law, the Department of Homeland Security can begin deportation proceedings after serving detainers and administrative warrants on jurisdictions detaining immigrants who are allegedly living in the country illegally, and then arrest the immigrants when they are released from jails.
ICE can smoothly carry out these arrests when state and local authorities honor the detainers and administrative warrants, which involves giving ICE a heads-up about an immigrant’s imminent release.
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Abdul Jalloh, 32, is accused of killing Stephanie Minter, 41, at a Virginia bus stop. (Fox 5 DC)
In Jalloh’s case, ICE “wants to take custody of him so they can put him through removal proceedings,” Arthur said.
DHS authorities say Jalloh had been arrested 30 times, including for violent offenses, before targeting Minter. The recent violent offense came after emails obtained by local outlet WJLA showed the Fairfax County Police Department also repeatedly warned Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano’s office about Jalloh.
Arthur said the purpose of ICE seeking cooperation from Fairfax County was to prevent Jalloh from being released into the public again.
“The issue is, if a state court judge grants him bond or releases him, or if the prosecutor’s office simply releases him and ICE isn’t notified, he’s going to be back out on the street,” Arthur said.
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger speaks during inaugural ceremonies at the Capitol in Richmond, Va., on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (Steve Helber/AP Photo)
Obtaining a judicial warrant to deport Jalloh is “not only not applicable. It’s not possible,” Arthur said.
“[Spanberger] might as well say, ‘If you give me a gallon of water from the moon I’ll hand him to you,’ because water doesn’t exist on the moon any more than judicial warrants exist in the immigration enforcement context,” Arthur said.
DHS and ICE also lambasted Spanberger on social media. DHS accused her of “fighting to protect a MURDERER over American citizens,” while ICE said uncooperative state leaders had “disdain” for their residents.
“Governor Spanberger’s response to this murder and to our ICE detainer: ‘Get a judicial warrant.’ Sanctuary state politicians have a true disdain for public safety and the constituents they serve,” ICE wrote on X.
Spanberger’s office did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Her office previously told WJLA that the governor supported violent illegal immigrants’ deportations, despite Spanberger terminating cooperation agreements with DHS, which sanctuary jurisdictions do to limit how local and state jails coordinate with federal immigration authorities.
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“As a former federal law enforcement officer who conducted joint search and arrest warrants alongside state and local officers, Governor Spanberger firmly believes that violent criminals who are in the United States illegally should be deported by immigration enforcement,” Spanberger’s office said. “DHS should request a signed judicial warrant to ensure this violent criminal is deported.”
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