A 31-year-old man was arrested in Loudoun County, Virginia, for allegedly intending to distribute fentanyl within 1,000 feet of a school. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has since placed a detainer on him, asking the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office to hold him until federal agents can take custody.

This should not be a hard call. Fentanyl is powerful enough that a few grains can kill, and dealing it anywhere near a school building puts every student who walks through that door at risk. "Anyone who comes to this country illegally and then allegedly peddles deadly fentanyl near our children's schools should expect ICE to come for them," said acting ICE Director David J. Venturella.

Whatever side of the immigration debate you're on, keeping hard drugs away from kids shouldn't be controversial. Right now, the future of local-federal cooperation on cases like this one is tied up in the courts, and school safety is caught in the middle of that fight.

We're asking the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office to honor detainers in fentanyl-near-schools cases like this one, and to make clear that protecting students comes before politics. Parents shouldn't have to wonder whether the county will follow through when a dealer is caught steps from a school.

Sign the petition to demand Loudoun County follow through on this detainer and keep fentanyl dealers away from our schools — before another child is put at risk.