<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Arlington County, Virginia, has designated $50,000 for families whose primary earner has been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The County Board voted to set aside $50,000 from the county’s Department of Human Services budget for grants to immigrant families in partnership with the nonprofit group Arlington Thrive. The vote, which was unanimous with one member absent, came at the end of a Sept. 2 special meeting and during a surge in immigration enforcement and ICE arrests across the state of Virginia.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“I’m very proud of this board for making this money available — I think we’ve all heard various individual or independent stories over the last few weeks, especially,” board Vice Chair Maureen Coffey said. “I think about our kids in our community, our American citizens, [Arlington Public Schools] students who are facing the loss of a parent that they depend on for housing and food and support.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The measure allows up to $2,000 per family “for those who have lost a primary wage earner and are in need of rapid, flexible financial assistance.” The money is to be distributed by check or debit card through Arlington Thrive.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Arlington County’s vote comes after increased immigration enforcement in Virginia and across the Washington, D.C., area.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong><a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/videos/4708187/federal-judge-blocks-virginia-sanctuary-law-ice-arrests-abigail-spanberger/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS SPANBERGER’S SANCTUARY LAW AS ICE ARRESTS SURGE</a></strong></p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In late August, the Department of Homeland Security announced it had arrested 1,328 illegal immigrants in two weeks across Virginia, Maryland, and Washington. The surge in arrests included nearly 400 immigrants who had either been convicted or charged with crimes and several members of international gangs, including Tren de Aragua and MS-13, DHS said.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">On Sept. 1, Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) and Virginia Democrats lost their fight against the Trump administration’s immigration agenda when a federal judge blocked a law enacted by Spanberger that restricts cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration officials.</p>