As Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano defended himself before Congress on Thursday, a legal expert told the Daily Caller what to expect next in the Department of Justice’s case against him — and what changes could follow.

Jason Johnson, president of the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund (LELDF), says he was the first to raise concerns about Descano with the DOJ. Johnson told the Caller he believes the DOJ will find policies or patterns showing Descano offered preferential treatment to illegal aliens over American citizens.

A DOJ statement, paired with a May 6 notice of the investigation, said the department is examining Descano’s plea bargaining, charging decisions and sentencing policies to determine whether non-U.S. citizens were granted preferential treatment.

Johnson said he wrote a letter in December to Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, who signed the notice, outlining accusations against Descano and requesting an investigation.

“I guess they’ve looked at it, and now they’ve decided that there’s enough there for them to investigate,” Johnson said. “They’re taking the exact approach that we asked them to take.”

During his testimony, Descano said his office “does not provide sanctuary or safe harbor to undocumented immigrants,” and that suggesting otherwise promotes a false narrative.

Damning question from McClintock about Descano dropping charges against an illegal immigrant who tried to rape a 4 year-old girl.

REP. McCLINTOCK: I understand he was later taken into custody by ICE and deported. I’m just curious, did you notify ICE of that release?

DESCANO: We… pic.twitter.com/HxYWR50oR9

— Law Enforcement Legal Defense (@LELDF) May 14, 2026

Following the announcement of the investigation, Descano also said that his policies are “fair, legal, and reflect the values of my community.”

“This investigation is the latest example of the Trump administration’s own ‘pattern or practice’ of misusing the Justice Department to launch partisan attacks,” his office later said in a statement, adding that the policies have been in place for more than five years and that the investigation comes a week before Descano is set to speak before Congress. “Our office’s policies are fair, legal, and reflect the values of Fairfax County, and we will not be distracted from our mission of keeping this community safe and holding individuals accountable when they commit crimes.”

Johnson and the Fairfax-based LELDF, which uses litigation and legal advocacy to support law enforcement nationwide, have criticized Descano’s practices since at least the death of Stephanie Minter, a 41-year-old mother allegedly stabbed to death at a county bus stop by a criminal illegal immigrant in February.

Minter’s mother also testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement, saying the system had failed her daughter.

“When policies protect people who are known threats, innocent lives are put at risk. When warnings are ignored, families like mine pay the price. This is not just about Stephanie, this is about every mother, every parent, every child, every person who waits at a bus stop, walks home, or goes to work trusting that they’ll be safe,” she testified. “We cannot ignore this; we cannot look away. Compassion should never come at the cost of public safety. Care for one group should not mean danger for another.”

LIVE NOW “I am not here for politics—I am here for accountability.”

The mother of murder victim Stephanie Minter confronts Fairfax Soros DA Steve Descano in @JudiciaryGOP hearing.

Descano has dismissed criticism of his malfeasance as political attacks. pic.twitter.com/EhDrDDvDAl

— Law Enforcement Legal Defense (@LELDF) May 14, 2026

The issue did not end with Minter’s death. By April, the Caller reported that illegal aliens made up 75 percent of suspects arrested for murder in Fairfax County in 2026, some of whom had already accumulated prior arrests and charges. 

“It’s almost every week that an illegal immigrant is having their charges dropped or otherwise not having to face justice in Fairfax County,” Johnson said.

The DOJ notice says its investigation will be conducted under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Safe Streets Act and the law enforcement misconduct statute, 34 U.S.C. § 12601.

Title VI prohibits any program receiving federal financial assistance from discriminating on the basis of race, color or national origin. Johnson said the DOJ appears poised to examine whether Descano’s office discriminated against U.S. citizens on the basis of national origin.

The Safe Streets Act is similar, functioning as a “purse strings” statute that bars federal funding for programs that discriminate on the basis of national origin and other protected characteristics.

The law enforcement misconduct statute, 34 U.S.C. § 12601, allows the DOJ to target a “pattern or practice” by law enforcement officials that deprives people of their rights.

To establish a violation of this statute, the DOJ must show more than an isolated incident of preferential treatment. However, Johnson said the department does not need to show that discrimination has taken place, but only that “the policy itself is improper.”

Johnson told the Caller that although such an investigation may take over a year, he believes Dhillon will find a pattern of preferential treatment. He also claimed Descano’s office has “scrubbed” its website of evidence of such policies.

A now-deleted paragraph from Descano’s campaign page said that his policies regarding declining to prosecute certain criminal illegal aliens are “equal justice” because “if two people commit the same crime, but only one’s punishment includes deportation, that’s a perversion of justice and not a reflection of the values of Fairfax County.”

Fairfax Soros DA Steve Descano is trying to HIDE his radical pro criminal illegal alien policies but the Internet archive is forever. He deleted his page promising unconstitutional discrimination vs US Citizens but we archived it for him last month. You’re welcome!
(link below) pic.twitter.com/XY7roqxQty

— Virginians for Safe Communities (VSC) (@VA4SafeComm) April 7, 2026

“He’s not really covered it up very well; he’s made it quite obvious what’s going on,” Johnson said, adding that although the DOJ may be searching for discriminatory policies as listed in the notice, it may be able to shift the focus to instead address any concerning practices not previously mentioned.

The DOJ statement notes that similar investigations have led to negotiations and policy changes in the past, though Johnson said they have primarily been used against law enforcement agencies rather than prosecutors’ offices.

The DOJ has used similar pattern-or-practice investigations to pursue reforms in other agencies. In 2023, following an investigation launched after the death of Breonna Taylor, the department found the Louisville Metro Police Department had engaged in conduct violating the Constitution and federal law, leading to a court-enforceable consent decree. In 2012, DOJ similarly found failures at the Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County and later worked with officials on reforms.

Similar remedies could be on the table in Fairfax, depending on the DOJ’s findings.

Descano is not alone. The House Judiciary Committee announced May 7 that the Arlington County Commonwealth’s attorney, Parisa Dehghani-Tafti, would also be investigated for allegedly refusing to cooperate with federal immigration officials and for allegedly prioritizing illegal and criminal aliens over American citizens.

Johnson told the Caller that other prosecutors’ offices in the country are operating under a similar playbook. He said any policy changes negotiated in Fairfax could serve as a deterrent for like-minded district attorneys going forward.

The Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office did not respond to the Daily Caller’s request for comment.

AUTHOR

Derek VanBuskirk

Reporter

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