The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced an investigation Wednesday into the bargaining, charging, and sentencing policies of Fairfax County, Virginia Commonwealth’s attorney.
The commonwealth’s attorney, Steve Descano, was notified of the investigation Wednesday. It will be conducted by the department’s Civil Rights Division, according to a DOJ statement. (RELATED: Tennessee Releases Proposed Map Eliminating Its Sole Democratic District)
The investigation will determine whether Descano’s office had offered preferential treatment only to illegal alien criminal defendants, therefore discriminating against American citizens within his jurisdiction.
“Under my leadership, the Civil Rights Division will not allow local prosecutors to pick and choose winners based on their immigration status,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said. “This investigation will uncover whether this prosecutor is putting the community at risk by offering sweetheart deals to illegal immigrants charged with serious crimes.”
The notice addressed to Descano said the investigation is based on information that his office had adopted a Plea Bargaining, Charging Decisions, and Sentencing Policy in 2020 that would “consider immigration consequences where possible” and that “prosecutors shall consider … the collateral immigration consequences of the specific crime(s) the defendant is charged with[.]”
FIVE YEAR sentence for MURDER.
The sanctuary Fairfax County District Attorney has given illegal aliens Maldin Anibal Guzman-Videz and Luis Alonzo Sort-Portillo, who stabbed a man to death in a park, just five years in prison.
This is MADNESS. Virginia sanctuary politicians… pic.twitter.com/YoGO4keGlM
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) April 7, 2026
The statement said the investigation will be conducted under various statutes, including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Safe Streets Act, and the law enforcement misconduct statute, 34 U.S.C. § 12601.
The DOJ said that although it has successfully conducted similar investigations resulting in settlement agreements and important reforms, the department has only started the investigation and “has not reached any conclusions regarding allegations in these matters.”
The investigation follows months of statements from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) attacking “Governor Abigail Spanberger and Fairfax sanctuary politicians” for their consistent plea deals and a lack of cooperation with federal authorities in following through with issued detainers before releasing criminal illegal aliens back into the streets.
DHS announced Tuesday that it had arrested a child rapist who had been released back into the streets following such plea deals.
The Daily Caller reported in April that three-quarters of murder investigations had the primary suspect as illegal aliens, with victims ranging from a mother to a baby.
Steve Descano’s office did not return the Daily Caller’s request for comment.