Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s Thursday executive order directing state public safety agencies to cooperate with federal immigration officials begins by linking specific crimes — including two outside of Virginia — to people in the country illegally. But few details as to what that cooperation will look like have been made available.
Though Matthew Demlein, a Virginia State Police spokesperson, told VPM News in an email the order “will provide for a Virginia State Police Task Force with a select group of federally deputized officers,” he didn’t specify how many would be a part of that contingent.
Rohmah Javed, legal director of the Legal Aid Justice Center’s Immigrant Justice Program, called it fearmongering.
“The EO perpetuates the same sort of tired rhetoric that immigrants are criminals,” he said. “It’s going to send all undocumented immigrants further into the shadows.”
Cavalry Strategies, a Florida-based PR firm, sent a Thursday email offering an opportunity to speak with Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, the commonwealth’s top law enforcement official, about the order. VPM News sent potential times to speak, but did not receive a response.
Shaun Kenney, the AG’s state spokesperson, responded to a VPM News email seeking comment by saying another agency should be contacted.
The immigration order specifies three instructions: The first pair “direct” state police and the Virginia Department of Corrections to enter into agreements with ICE.
The Virginia Department of Corrections sent an email to VPM News at 4:14 p.m. saying it would “work swiftly and decisively to implement the directives established by Governor Glenn Youngkin’s Executive Order 47. The VADOC and its more than 11,000 employees remain committed to ensuring long-term public safety for all Virginians by providing effective incarceration, supervision, and evidence-based re-entry services.”
According to Youngkin’s order, 946 people incarcerated at VADOC facilities are in the country illegally and have been deemed by federal authorities to have been involved in “serious criminal activities.” About 22,000 people in total are housed at state facilities, according to January numbers from the corrections department.
The third instruction listed in the order directs Terrance C. Cole, Virginia’s secretary of public safety, to “request” officials overseeing local and regional jails affirm a willingness to cooperate with federal immigration officials.
“The word ‘requests’ is the operative verb,” said Alex Kornya, litigation director at the Legal Aid Justice Center. “That is in line with federal law, which makes these agreements 100% voluntary.”
VPM News reached out to a number of other law enforcement agencies in Central Virginia for comment. Some didn’t reply, while others — like the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office — declined to comment. At least two local departments told VPM News on Thursday the request for comment was the first they’d heard of Youngkin’s immigration order.
Henrico’s Police Division responded via email: “We understand this is a nationwide issue and Henrico Police will continue to enforce laws across the county and focus on ways to address/prevent crime in our communities.”
Julian Walker, interim press secretary for Richmond Mayor Danny Avula, told VPM News that city Sheriff Antionette Irving “will continue to follow the law for all persons in our custody.”
Walker also said the city doesn’t anticipate RPD doing the work of immigration enforcement agencies.
“There is agreement that the primary focus and responsibilities of the Richmond police department are to ensure the safety and security of residents and individuals who are visiting or working in the city of Richmond,” Walker said Friday about previous discussions between Avula and Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards.
“I'm not interested in pursuing the 287(g) delegation of that kind of authority,” Edwards said in December. “I don't see a role for that with law enforcement — local law enforcement — particularly with RPD. We've worked really hard to reach out to all members of our community, regardless of what their passport says or what language they speak. Our officers won't be asking anyone's immigration status.”
Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras previously said he’d “stand at the schoolhouse door to protect any student of ours.”
Claire Gastañaga, former executive director of the ACLU of Virginia and former state chief deputy attorney general, said she was outraged by the executive order.
“This is effectively seizing state resources and allocating them to the federal government to do a federal job,” she said.
