FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 4, 2026
MEDIA CONTACT: David Aldridge, daldridge@vac4progress.org
Advocacy Organizations Express Strong Support in Defending Immigrant Rights with the Virginia Community Safety & Trust Agenda
To Governor Spanberger, Speaker Scott, Senator Lucas, Senator Surovell, and Delegate Torian and all Virginians:
The undersigned organizations write to express our profound gratitude and support for Governor Spanberger’s historic actions in rescinding the previous administration’s mandates that forced our state agencies into federal immigration enforcement. By moving to eliminate 287(g) agreements at the state level, Governor Spanberger has taken a monumental step toward restoring the ‘Virginia way’ of community-focused policing. We the undersigned organization express our support for leaders in the General Assembly to build upon this executive leadership by enacting already advancing legislation to ensure these safeguards codified into law for all Virginians through the Virginia Community Safety & Trust Agenda.
During the first Trump administration, Liliana Cruz Mendez, a CASA member from Falls Church, attended a routine ICE check-in with her attorney and fully complied with all requirements. She never came home. Despite receiving a pardon from Governor Terry McAuliffe for a years-old traffic conviction stemming from a broken taillight stop, ICE detained and deported this mother of two U.S. citizen children to El Salvador in 2017. The message to immigrant communities was unmistakable: compliance does not protect families from separation.
Today, the consequences of this broken system are becoming deadly. On January 7, 2026, in Minneapolis, Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen and mother of three, was shot and killed during an ICE operation. Alex Pretti was killed on January 24, 2026, also in Minneapolis, shot multiple times by United States Border Patrol agents. Here in Virginia, 24-year-old Josué Castro Rivera died on I-264 in Norfolk on October 26, 2025, running into traffic during an ICE operation where he was struck and killed. These tragedies reveal a system that endangers public safety rather than protecting it.
Across Virginia, immigrant residents are making a dangerous calculation: they remain silent about crimes rather than risk deportation. Victims of domestic violence hesitate to call for help. Offenders exploit this fear and operate with impunity in communities that are afraid to report them. Law enforcement leaders have repeatedly warned against this outcome. The Major Cities Chiefs Association has affirmed that police cannot effectively serve communities when residents fear them as immigration agents.
Current practices also expose Virginia localities to serious legal and financial risk. ICE detainers are not warrants—they are administrative requests asking local jails to hold individuals beyond their release date without judicial approval. Federal courts have repeatedly ruled that honoring these detainers violates the Fourth Amendment. Virginia localities face nearly $1 million annually in direct detention costs alone, with potential legal liability that has cost jurisdictions like Los Angeles County $14 million in settlements. This is money that should fund schools, roads, and first responders.
While we celebrate Governor Spanberger’s swift action to end state-level 287(g) agreements, we recognize that many local-level agreements and informal collaboration practices remain. Governor Spanberger has shown the way forward; now, the General Assembly must finish the job. We urge our leaders to support measures that restore a permanent, clear boundary between local police and federal immigration enforcement across every jurisdiction in the Commonwealth. By requiring judicial warrants for civil arrests and restricting the use of local resources for federal civil priorities, we can ensure that the vision of safety and trust championed by the Governor becomes the permanent reality for every neighborhood in Virginia by enacting the Community and Safety Trust agenda..
All Virginians must be able to access hospitals, schools, and workplaces without fear of coercion or intimidation. We support legislation that establishes accountability mechanisms, codifies protections for students and workers, limits access to immigration enforcement at schools, restricts the sharing of personal data with federal authorities, and prohibits employers from using immigration threats as coercion. It also ensures that sensitive locations remain safe spaces for all community members.
By requiring judicial warrants and ending unconstitutional detainer practices, Virginia protects taxpayers from costly civil rights lawsuits while ensuring constitutional governance. Local resources should fund local priorities—not subsidize federal civil enforcement or defend against Fourth Amendment violation claims.
We also urge our leaders to oppose any “mandatory notification” legislation that would violate principles of local autonomy and poison the trust between our residents and local law enforcement. Such measures would make victims and witnesses afraid to come forward, undermining the very public safety goals they claim to advance.
Liliana Cruz Mendez and thousands like her are our neighbors, coworkers, and community members. They stock grocery shelves, care for the elderly, and keep our economy running. When they live in fear of routine police interactions, we all lose. Clear boundaries benefit everyone: local police focus on crime, federal agencies handle civil immigration enforcement, and Virginia taxpayers are not forced to fund unconstitutional detentions.
Families should not be torn apart for complying with the law. Communities should not be afraid to call the police when crimes occur. Taxpayers should not bankroll unconstitutional practices. No one else should die during immigration operations on Virginia’s highways.
SIGNATORY ORGANIZATIONS
ACLU of Virginia
CASA
Freedom Virginia
New Virginia Majority
Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia
Progress Virginia
Repro Rising Virginia
SEIU Virginia 512
SEIU Virginia State Council
Working Families Party
32BJ SEIU