Virginia lawmakers limit the Trump administration’s ability to commandeer Virginia resources for its anti-immigrant agenda

RICHMOND, Va. — After Virginia lawmakers passed measures to limit Virginia’s collaboration with federal immigration enforcement in Virginia, ACLU of Virginia Policy Director Chris Kaiser released the following statement:

“The Trump administration’s violent anti-immigrant agenda relies on dragging our local institutions into federal immigration enforcement — turning police, courts, and community services into dangerous tools of detention and deportation. But Virginia resources should go toward keeping Virginians safe, not disappearing them.

“We applaud the General Assembly for passing legislation to protect the rule of law and Virginians’ civil rights and civil liberties from the Trump administration’s attempts at chaos and intimidation. By requiring Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to identify themselves; placing strict limits on collaboration between ICE and Virginia law enforcement; safeguarding Virginians’ private data from ICE access; and shielding Virginia’s public institutions like courthouses, schools, and hospitals from warrantless ICE arrests, Virginia lawmakers have taken significant steps to ensure that Virginia resources cannot be commandeered by the Trump administration for its lawless mass deportation agenda, and we urge Gov. Spanberger to sign these critical protections into law.”