Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights Applauds Governor Spanberger for Ending Agreements Between ICE and Virginia Law Enforcement

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, February 4, 20206

Press Contact: Kelsey Cowger, Progress VA, 434-484-2795, kelsey@progressva.org, press@vacir.org

Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights Applauds Governor Spanberger for Ending Agreements Between ICE and Virginia Law Enforcement

Richmond, VA—In a move celebrated by immigrant communities and advocacy groups across the Commonwealth, Governor Abigail Spanberger has ended agreements between ICE and the four Virginia state law enforcement agencies, the Virginia State Police, Virginia Department of Corrections, Virginia Conservation Police, and Virginia Marine Police. This means that state law enforcement will no longer be forcibly deputized into conducting immigration enforcement for the federal government, and can again prioritize public safety and community trust.

“Governor Spanberger’s decision to end cooperation agreements is a powerful step toward restoring basic constitutional protections and rebuilding trust between immigrant communities and law enforcement across Virginia,” said Monica Sarmiento, Executive Director of the Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights (VACIR). “These agreements have deputized state agencies into carrying out a federal detention and deportation agenda that relies on fear, racial profiling, and warrantless enforcement, undermining public safety for everyone. By ending statewide cooperation with ICE, the Governor is affirming that our state resources should be used to keep communities safe, not to tear families apart and funnel people into a system that has repeatedly violated civil and human rights. Immigrants are essential to Virginia’s economy and civic life, and today’s action sends a clear message that our communities deserve dignity, safety, and equal protection under the law.”

Background:

A brief explainer on 287g agreements and how/where they are used.
On Feb. 27, 2025, then-Governor Glenn Youngkin issued an executive order requiring that all state law enforcement to enter into 287g agreements with ICE, which mandated cooperation on immigration enforcement.
Immediately upon being sworn into office, Governor Spanberger rescinded Youngkin’s executive order on 287g agreements, but stopped short of requiring state agencies to end those agreements; instead, the language was permissive, allowing agencies to maintain agreements at their discretion.
As of February 4, 2026, she ordered state agencies to terminate those agreements.
The agencies affected by the Governor’s decision to terminate 287g agreements are the Virginia State Police, Virginia Department of Corrections, Virginia Conservation Police, and Virginia Marine Police.
While Governor Spanberger’s executive order will not affect 287g agreements made at the local level, Senator Sadam Salim’s SB783 would forbid localities from entering into those agreements unless ICE significantly changed its enforcement and policing tactics (the bill requires ICE to stop wearing masks, show ID, refrain from enforcement in sensitive areas like faith communities, courthouses and schools, and other common tactics.)
New reporting from the Legal Aid Justice Center shows that 32 local communities have entered into 287g agreements with ICE. These agreements, many of which are kept secret from the public, are made between local law enforcement agencies, school resource officers, and in one case, a school behavior specialist.