OPINION: Silence is a Decision--Stafford Must Take a Stand on Massive Detention Center Threat

"We chose Stafford not only because it felt safe, but because it felt human; a place where people matter. The Board’s silence risks breaking that trust."

Apr 03, 2026

By Ines Furume
GUEST COLUMNIST

ICE's Houston Processing Center. Photo by Patrick Feller, licensed under CC BY 2.0.

As a resident of Stafford County and an immigrant, I chose to build my life here with intention. I came because Stafford offers something increasingly rare: trust, safety, and stability. Neighbors know each other, children ride bikes through quiet streets, and families invest in a shared future. We are close enough to opportunity, yet far enough to preserve a sense of peace that makes this county feel like home.

That is why the Board of Supervisors’ response to concerns about a potential 5,000 to 10,000-bed ICE detention center is so troubling.

At the latest meeting, residents showed up and spoke. They referenced credible reporting and raised concerns about what such a facility could mean for families and our community’s identity. It would be one of the largest of its kind, with significant implications for infrastructure, public perception, and the social fabric of Stafford.

Residents asked for a resolution signaling that Stafford does not support the placement of such a facility in our community. The Board declined.

The reasoning offered, that there is no active proposal, along with land-use constraints, and concerns about creating unnecessary fear, falls short of what leadership requires in this moment. Leadership is not only about reacting when plans are finalized. It is about setting direction early, making values clear, and ensuring that the community’s voice shapes what comes next.

That inaction stands in tension with the direction the Commonwealth itself is taking. Recently, the Virginia General Assembly advanced legislation, HB 650 and SB 351, designed to protect “sensitive locations” such as schools, hospitals, courthouses, and polling places from immigration enforcement activities. The intent is clear. People should be able to seek medical care, pursue justice, attend school, and participate in civic life without fear.

This reflects a broader understanding that public safety is not only about enforcement, but about trust. When individuals are afraid to go to a hospital, report a crime, or show up to court, entire communities become less safe.

But here in Stafford, the Board’s inaction risks sending a conflicting message.

If the state is moving to ensure that immigrants can access essential services without fear, how can our local leadership remain silent on the possibility of building a detention center of this scale in our backyard? These are not disconnected issues. They point to one question: What kind of community are we choosing to be?

Stafford is a place where diversity quietly thrives. Immigrants are not outsiders here. They are our neighbors, our coworkers, and our local business owners. Walk down any commercial corridor and you will find businesses sustained by immigrant families. They contribute to the economic vitality of this county and to the character of our shared community.

To entertain the possibility of a detention facility of this magnitude without clearly stating where we stand undermines that reality. It suggests that while immigrants are welcome to contribute, and belong, their presence can also be overshadowed by institutions that represent fear and confinement.

That is not the Stafford many of us chose.

Families did not move here to live in the shadow of a massive detention complex. Parents did not invest here so their children would grow up associating their community with incarceration on an industrial scale. We chose Stafford not only because it felt safe, but because it felt human; a place where people matter.

The Board’s silence risks breaking that trust.

Trust is built when leaders act not only in response to formal proposals, but in alignment with the values of the people they represent. A resolution opposing such a facility would not have created fear. It would have created clarity. It would have signaled to residents, developers, and outside agencies that Stafford is intentional about its future.

Large-scale projects do not materialize overnight. They are shaped by what communities encourage, tolerate, or resist. When those signals are absent, decisions are more likely to be made without the full weight of community input.

As residents, we are not asking for alarmism. We are asking for foresight and representation. We are asking our leaders to recognize that safety is not only about infrastructure or zoning codes, but about the kind of environment we cultivate, one where families feel secure, and every resident, regardless of background, feels they belong.

The Board still has an opportunity to lead. It can revisit this issue, align Stafford with the broader values emerging across Virginia, and take a clear and principled stance that reflects the voices heard so powerfully at that meeting.

Because in moments like this, silence is not neutral. It is consequential.

And Stafford residents will remember what that silence stood for.

Dr. Ines Furume is a resident of Stafford County and works with We Are CASA, an organization that supported HB 650 and SB 351.