Without a media announcement, the Fairfax County Police Department released its revised General Order 604, February 21, 2025, titled "Immigration Status, Citizenship, and National Origin," effective the same day. It replaced General Order 604, May 6, 2020.
The Department's opacity, which limits oversight and fosters mistrust through a reluctance to share information with the public, came to light through the April 1 Meeting Summary of the One Fairfax Community Roundtable, available online. Community members can sign up to provide verbal statements during the public comment period of general body Roundtable meetings. However, unlike meetings of Fairfax County Boards, Authorities, and Commissions (BACs), no audio or video is publicly available for Roundtable meetings after they occur.
Over a year ago, on March 22, 2024, the Roundtable was established “based on a recommendation from the Chairman’s Task Force on Equity and Opportunity to Establish a Community Advisory Board, with representation by Black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) and low-income individuals, to monitor the degree to which each county agency has prioritized the needs of BIPOC and lower income communities.”
Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis disbanded the Police Reform Matrix Working Group, informing its members that all future interactions with community leaders and advocates would be funneled through the Roundtable. The working group, although no longer a formal county entity, had continued its efforts to influence policy. However, its requests for "co-production" on policy development with the Fairfax County Police Department were repeatedly denied.
In the last few months, some members of the Roundtable, advocacy groups, and individuals have expressed concern and criticism in response to the change in Fairfax County's General Order 604. They primarily focused on a perceived lack of transparency, a weakening of protections for immigrant communities, and a decline in public trust.
At the April 1 Roundtable meeting, Clayton Medford, then chief of staff for Chairman Jeff McKay, told members that the aim was to make sure the Trust Policy and related rules in Fairfax County Police Department General Order 604 could hold up against tough legal challenges from the federal government and outside groups, according to the April 2025 One Fairfax Community Roundtable Meeting Summary.pdf. The changes in the GO are not expected to alter the way the county conducts policing, Medford reportedly said.
Members of the Roundtable criticized the lack of transparency, particularly since community organizations that had helped create the original policy were not involved in the revisions, according to the summary. Members expressed concerns that the changes "weakened GO 604." They discussed the "mental anguish and economic effects" these changes could have on immigrant communities.
The meeting summary states that Medford related, "concerns are elevated to the very top of the county's structure, and there is a continued commitment to reducing and eliminating barriers facing immigrant communities' access to county services."
On June 6, ACLU People Power Fairfax posted a statement saying in part that Fairfax County Police Department's revised General Order 604 "allows police officers to help ICE's mass deportations, in violation of the promises the Board of Supervisors made to immigrants in the 2021 Trust Policy." The organization argued that the amended policy puts immigrants in Fairfax at risk and undermines public trust.
Additionally, the revisions are not "mere technicalities," ACLU stated. "The 2025 revision strips out the prohibition on 1) using county resources (including data) to facilitate or participate in ICE civil enforcement and 2) voluntarily sharing addresses and other locator information with ICE and joint task forces. 3) Prohibiting ICE access to police facilities to interview or detain immigrants; 4) Communicating with ICE without prior written approval."
Even though Medford explained the goal of the new General Order 604 and shared that it was not expected to change the way the county does policing, his reassurance did not quell community concerns when they learned of the changes to GO 604.
"Clear communications and trustworthy policy are needed now," John Cross posted four months ago in the comment section of the online Engage Fairfax County One Fairfax Community Roundtable site."It is clear that the county cannot expect to protect itself and its residents by evasive action," Cross wrote.
Cross called for a reversal of the changes. Cross specifically pointed out the removal of restrictions on "facilitating immigration enforcement, assisting investigations, and sharing information with ICE." He warned that replacing these specific rules with a vague statement about complying with the Fairfax Trust Policy could lead to misunderstandings among officers about the policy's intent. The full text of his comment is available online at https://engage.fairfaxcounty.gov/onefairfaxroundtable#:~:text=APR%201,2.
On July 1, members of the Roundtable again expressed concerns about a breakdown of transparency and trust with the Fairfax County Police Department and the county. The One Fairfax Community Roundtable Meeting summary, dated July 1, is available online. It features a presentation on the Chairman's Task Force on Equity and Opportunity Recommendations Progress.
"During the discussion, some members were unaware of these updates and emphasized the need for stronger alignment and communication from county leadership and community members," states the online meeting summary.
Additionally, after the Roundtable's Foot Pursuit Equity Action Team presented its final report and vote, two members, Prince Howard, Community Safety & Justice Equity Champion for Sully, along with Rev. Dr. Vernon Walton, Inclusive Prosperity Equity Champion for Dranesville, led a discussion.
According to the meeting summary, Howard and Walton "emphasized a breakdown in trust," as evident in the abrupt end of the Roundtable’s process for the foot pursuit policy, which utilized its Equity Action Team. They questioned mutual respect and transparent communication from county agencies and whether community bodies such as the Roundtable and the equity team "are viewed as partners in shaping policy."
Members voted and approved sending a memo to Chairman McKay and County Executive Hill, with copies to all Board Supervisors.
In 2024, when Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis disbanded the Police Reform Matrix Working Group, the Connection reported, the group continued its efforts to influence policy. However, Davis repeatedly denied the group's requests for "co-production" on policy development with the Fairfax County Police Department.
The group's final reports, including the 13-page, "Next Steps on Police Reform in Fairfax County, May 12, 2024," highlighted their disagreement with Chief Davis's belief that the new Roundtable could adequately replace their co-production model and expressed concern that community engagement on substantive policing issues would effectively cease, The Connection reported.
The report's purpose was to recommend that the Board of Supervisors take immediate action on six of the 52 recommendations from the Reform Matrix Working Group's earlier report, "Action Plan 2023." Among the six recommendations was to “Restart Co-Production on Current Pressing Concerns.”
The report urged the Board of Supervisors to require immediate co-production with the FCPD on specific policy issues, including foot pursuit policies, use of force, and the use of firearms. It specifically rejected the FCPD's proposal to refer the foot pursuit policy to the One Fairfax Roundtable.
Updates: The Fairfax County Police Department's Foot Pursuit General Order 614, effective April 9, 2025, is a new policy. It is the first formal policy of its kind for the department.
In May 2025, the department launched its Open Data Site.”Fairfax County Open Data Portal is an effort to put this information into the public realm using a variety of easy-to-read charts, figures and documents,” states Kevin Davis, chief of police, Fairfax County, in the Chief’s Message.
