Federal immigration officials have told Northern Virginia governments they want to focus their limited resources on the most egregious felons when selecting jailed illegal immigrants for a deportation program.

The proposal is the latest evidence that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is having a tough time balancing its manpower constraints with the ambitions of some localities to deport all of their criminal illegal immigrants.

In a May meeting with officials in Prince William County, Herndon and Manassas, ICE said it wants the governments to scrap a specific list of crimes that qualify a criminal to be processed for deportation under the federal 287(g) program, according to a June letter from ICE to Herndon Mayor Steve DeBenedittis summarizing the meeting. The program grants local law enforcement limited immigration enforcement powers.

Instead, the program would be used for “individuals who are convicted of state or federal felony offenses and individuals who pose a significant threat to public safety,” according to a follow-up letter from Herndon Police Chief Toussaint Summers Jr. to the town manager.

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The move, ICE spokesman Richard Rocha said, “allows us to prioritize our efforts.” It also would change the partnerships — or memoranda of agreement — to be more in line with those of localities across the country, he added.

“Like any law enforcement agency, we do have limited resources,” Rocha said.

Loudoun County was told of similar constraints when it sought last month to enroll its officers in the program, which will be limited to “the worst of the worst.” The scope of 287(g) in Prince William has been hampered by its own overcrowded jails.

Herndon, Prince William and Manassas officials, during the May meeting, have “expressed no support” for the change, Summers wrote. He added that the change would also apparently have little effect: Most of the illegal immigrants formerly detained under 287(g) would meet the new criteria.

Prince William Board of County Supervisors Chairman Corey Stewart said it was not clear what ICE wanted, and added he wanted to discuss the changes with the agency this week.

“Obviously, we’re not interested in changing the [agreement] in any way that’s detrimental to the program,” he said.

wflook@dcexaminer.com