Fairfax Courthouse Protest Targets ICE Policies After Virginia Mask Law Signed

FAIRFAX, VA — About 15 protesters gathered outside the Fairfax County Courthouse on Wednesday morning to criticize federal immigration enforcement policies and call attention to deaths connected to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody.

The demonstration, held outside the Fairfax Circuit Court building, came about a week after Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed legislation requiring law enforcement officers in Virginia to display identifying badges and limiting the use of face coverings during most public interactions.

The new law drew attention because of recent concerns over masked immigration enforcement officers. Spanberger also vetoed separate legislation that would have restricted where federal immigration agents could conduct civil arrests, including near courthouses, schools and health care facilities.

The Fairfax protest was hosted by members of Defend Democracy Indivisible NOVA, according to Diane Dresdner, one of the group's organizers.

“We’re going to continue to do this as long as ICE is here,” Dresdner said.

An Associated Press investigation published on Wednesday said that at least 10 detainees, all men, have died by suicide since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, a pace that far exceeds the growth in the detainee population, according to a review of ICE data, autopsy reports, coroners’ rulings and police records.

RELATED: VA Governor Signs Police Identification Bill, Vetoes ICE Arrest Restrictions Measure

Since October, seven deaths have been classified as suicides, a number that is already the most for any fiscal year in the agency’s history. ICE has usually recorded one or no such deaths annually.

The increased pace of suicides exceeds the growth in ICE’s detainee population, and those deaths account for nearly 20 percent of the 51 people who have died in ICE custody since January 2025, according to AP.

Nine of the deaths were of Hispanic men who had arrived in the U.S. from four countries, according to AP's investigation. One man was a Chinese citizen. Their average age was 32. While Trump has characterized those facing deportation as the “worst of the worst,” seven of the 10 had no record of violent crimes in the U.S.

Protesters in Fairfax displayed tombstone-style posters bearing the names of those who died in ICE custody or during encounters involving immigration enforcement officers. The waterproof signs, designed to resemble grave markers, lined part of the protest area outside the courthouse.

Dredner told Patch the group has held protests outside the courthouse on the fourth Wednesday of each month since December 2025, except during icy conditions in January. She also participated in demonstrations during President Trump’s first administration, including protests against family detention policies.

“In Trump 1.0 I was one of the 500 some arrested ... protesting children in cages,” Dresdner said. “The conditions for everyone are inhumane and indefensible.”

Several protesters who declined to provide their names said they were concerned about immigration enforcement practices and civil liberties.

A woman from Burke said she was concerned about “secret police people who are unidentifiable.”

“I think that’s Trump’s secret police scares me,” she said.

A woman from Vienna said she believed federal immigration policies were “unfair and cruel.”

Another protester, Sally from Reston, said she believed demonstrations have grown as more people become concerned about federal policies.

“I think gradually we’re gathering more people,” she said. “I think people are starting to wake up a little bit.”

The Reston woman said most interactions with passing motorists had been limited to gestures or brief conversations, though she said some discussions had been productive.

“I think a lot of people are willing to engage calmly,” she said.

The Associated Press contributed reporting of this story.