Overview

The DC Jail, run by the DC Department of Corrections (DOC) (Central Detention Facility + Correctional Treatment Facility, 1901 D Street SE), is the District’s only correctional facility. It is included here to document an absence: under DC’s Sanctuary Values Act (codified at DC Code § 24-211.07), the DOC does not hold people for ICE, does not provide ICE space in its facilities, does not share detainee personal information, and will not honor ICE detainers without a judicial warrant. There is no ICE detention or holding contract at the DC Jail. ICE arrests made in the District are therefore processed and transferred out to Virginia (ICE’s Chantilly Washington Field Office, then Farmville / Caroline / Southwest Virginia Regional Jail).

Status: No ICE Function

• DC Code § 24-211.07 prohibits: providing ICE space in DC detention facilities to house individuals; granting ICE access to DOC facilities; sharing detainees’ personal information; inquiring into immigration status of people in DC custody; and holding for ICE absent a judicial warrant.
• The DOC must submit an annual report to the Mayor and Council (due January 1) listing ICE detainer/information requests received, individuals released to ICE, and information shared.
• No federal-purchase or IGSA-style ICE bed contract exists at the DC Jail — distinguishing it sharply from county jails in VA/MD that hold ICE detainees.

The Pressure Point Is Federal, Not the Jail

The federal government did not pursue ICE beds at the DC Jail. Instead, after the August 11, 2025 “crime emergency,” it federalized MPD and deployed the National Guard, and ICE made warrantless street arrests (1,100+ in ~2 months, 80%+ no record). Because the DC Jail will not hold them, detainees are routed to the overcrowded Chantilly, VA processing site and onward to Virginia detention. See the overview note dc-ice-detention-overview-2025-2026 and arlington-va-ice-infrastructure for the regional pipeline.

Why It Matters

The DC Jail is a negative-space datapoint: it confirms the District holds zero ICE detainees by law, which is exactly why DC functions as an arrest-and-export node and why the operational strain shows up downstream in Virginia. Any future move to carve a federal-immigration hold function into the DOC — or a Congressional override of the Sanctuary Values Act given DC’s unique federal control — would be a major early-warning signal worth tracking.

Sources

• DC Code § 24-211.07 — Prohibition on Cooperation with Federal Immigration Agencies
• ILRC: DC Police’s Collusion with Federal Immigration Enforcement Violates Sanctuary Values Act (Aug 2025)
• ACLU-DC: Testimony Before DC Council on the Sanctuary Values Amendment Act
• 51st News: ICE Detained Over 1,000 People in DC — One Man’s Story (transfer pipeline to VA)