Audit shows Prince William County provided WJLA with incorrect sanctuary city information

By CHRIS PAPST, ABC7 Friday, December 18th 2015

WOODBRIDGE, Va. (ABC7) — Prince William County made a mistake - that's the result of an internal investigation launched after an I-Team report found the county was not fully cooperating with federal immigration authorities. Turns out, 7 On Your Side's Chris Papst was given incorrect information from county police when he was conducting his investigation.

"We were relieved, to say the least." What has Prince William County Board Chairman Corey Stewart relieved is the release of an internal audit which shows his county should not be considered a 'so-called' Sanctuary City.

"Nobody will be fired, no," said Stewart, who was quoted as saying "heads will roll" if someone was found to have undermined the county's policy.

A sanctuary city is defined as one that does not fully cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. Last month, an I-Team investigation found five in the D.C. metro area, including Prince William County. Two days after our story aired, the Prince William Board, which in 2007 enacted strong illegal immigration policies, launched an internal audit to learn why police were no longer fully cooperating with ICE. The results found WJLA was provided accurate information from County Police.

"It's clear that we didn't do a sufficient job in thoroughly reviewing our own policies," said Police Chief Steve Hudson.

Hudson said his staff spent hundreds of hours reviewing policy and found, this year, his department encountered 15 people with immigration-related civil warrants. All were reported to ICE, which is in line with their actual policy.

"It was a simple error. We fixed it," added Hudson. "I can assure you it won't happen again. And I have no doubts, whatsoever, that our staff has been doing the right thing all along. That's what gives me comfort."

Chief Hudson believes the reason the I-Team received incorrect information goes back to 2012. That year, federal immigration policy changed. When ABC7 was conducting research for our original story, Hudson says, the department's public information officer didn't fully understand the new policy.

http://wjla.com/features/7-on-your-s...ct-information