Although Virginia Governor Ralph Northam (D) signaled some support for legislation to curb the creation of sanctuary cities and other immigration measures during his 2017 gubernatorial campaign, he has shown, now through two legislative sessions, that he will side with the increasingly progressive bloc of the Democratic Party. Following the end of the 46-day session in Richmond, the governor has vetoed two immigration-minded bills that would have ensured that the Commonwealth does not go down the political path of states like California.
In February, the GOP-controlled General Assembly passed S.B. 1156, patroned by State Senator Dick Black (R-Loudoun), which would prohibit any locality from adopting any ordinance, procedure, or policy that restricts the enforcement of federal immigration laws.
The measure is identical to last year’s H.B. 1257, which failed to become law after being struck down via a Northam veto.
“This legislation would force local law enforcement agencies to use precious resources to perform functions that are the responsibility of federal immigration enforcement agencies. It also sends a chilling message to communities across Virginia that could have negative impacts on public safety,” Governor Northam said in his veto memo.
“This legislation would strip localities of…autonomy, and force them to divert money and manpower away from their core public safety functions,” he explained. “Were it to become law, this bill would send a clear message to people across this Commonwealth that state and local law enforcement officials are to be feared and avoided rather than trusted and engaged.”
Northam added “there are many actions we can take to support law enforcement and keep Virginians safe,” and that imposing “new unfunded mandates on state and local public safety agencies in order to make a political point is not one of them.”
Governor Northam also vetoed a bill that would require law enforcement officials to notify the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) when an undocumented immigrant is released from state or local custody. He said the bill would “impose an unnecessary requirement” on the Commonwealth’s correctional facility officials.
H.B. 2270, introduced by Delegate Charles Poindexter (R-Franklin), mandates that the “sheriff, jail superintendent, or other official in charge of a local correctional facility or a regional jail” where an undocumented immigrant is incarcerated shall notify federal immigration officials upon the their release or discharge, or ahead of time as soon as their release date is known.
“We cooperate with the federal government on murder and law enforcement for illegal drugs, human trafficking, conspiracy, smuggling, even ABC involvement,” said Delegate Poindexter in a report from WVTF. “And I propose that we should cooperate on immigration as well.”
In his veto memo, however, the governor said the “legislation impedes decision-making by administrators of these facilities by eliminating [their] discretion” of how correctional facilities officials “choose to engage with federal immigration agencies.”
“There are many actions we can take to support public safety and keep Virginians safe,” he said. “Eliminating local discretion and impeding local decision-making are not appropriate options. Were it to become law, this bill would send a clear message to people across the Commonwealth that our public safety agencies are to be feared and avoided rather than trusted and engaged.”
The governor’s actions come less than two weeks after Prince George County law enforcement officers arrested five people, including two teenagers, connected to the gruesome murder of a 16-year-old boy stabbed 100 times during a group attack inside the home of a suspected MS-13 gang leader before the body was dumped in a remote area of Stafford County, then set on fire.
As transnational gangs like MS-13 continue to plague the Northern Virginia area with horrific crimes, it is not legislation like banning sanctuary cities and notifying ICE officials when undocumented immigrants are released from custody that “have negative impacts on public safety,” which Governor Northam asserts, but the fact that there are none.