It looks like Virginia’s new governor, Democrat Abigail Spanberger, is angling to make the commonwealth a Minnesota 2.0. In an entirely-expected development, the governor announced Wednesday that she is officially ending agreements put in place by her predecessor, Republican Glenn Youngkin, that allowed state law enforcement agencies to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
On January 17, her first day in office, Spanberger granted herself the authority to cease cooperation between the state and ICE; Wednesday, she decided to wield the power she had bestowed upon herself. “These agreements improperly ceded discretion and authority over Virginia law enforcement to federal authorities,” Spanberger said in a statement. “I have full confidence that Virginia law enforcement agents are keeping Virginia safer when exercising their authority under Virginia law.”
Youngkin entered into what is known as a Section 287(g) agreement with ICE last March; this arrangement created a task force of federally deputized state law enforcement officers to “assist in the identification and apprehension of criminal illegal immigrants who pose a risk to public safety throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia.” Then-Gov. Youngkin said at the time, “Dangerous criminal illegal immigrants should not be let back into our communities to assault, rape and murder. They should be sent back where they came from.”
A rather fidgety-looking Spanberger addressed the media Wednesday, saying, “I issued Executive Order no. 12 that is focused on recognizing the value of policing here in the Commonwealth of Virginia and ensuring that there is clarity across the Commonwealth as it relates to basic principles that public trust is essential to the ability to conduct quality policing.”