“Police departments should not arbitrarily refuse to issue U visa certifications, and thanks to today’s settlement, immigrants in Roanoke will finally get what the law promises them,” said ACLU of Virginia Immigrants’ Rights Attorney Sophia Gregg.

“Today’s order isn’t just the first lawsuit of its kind to ever be filed in the Fourth Circuit: it’s a first step towards getting justice for the dozens of people whom ICE has harmed here in Virginia," said ACLU of Virginia Staff Attorney Sophia Gregg.

"Immigrant survivors of crime have rights,” said ACLU-VA Immigrants’ Rights Attorney Sophia Gregg. “Virginia law is very clear: police departments can’t arbitrarily refuse to issue U visa certifications any more than they could refuse to investigate the crimes that make people eligible for them."

ACLU affiliates issue a response to Republican governors’ escalation of immigration enforcement.

"Although we’re relieved that our client is finally free, he should never have been illegally imprisoned in the first place,” said Sophia Gregg, Immigrants’ Rights Attorney for the ACLU of Virginia.

Today the ACLU of Virginia, Capital Area Immigrants' Rights (CAIR) Coalition, and the National Immigration Project sued ICE on behalf of three men whom ICE is still detaining months after they won their immigration cases.

We are glad that the governor is trying to mitigate the discriminatory effects of this legislation but disappointed that he didn't simply recommend amendments that would have made regular driver's licenses available to all residents of Virginia without discrimination.