Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin orders local law enforcement to assist ICE

VIRGINIA - Police in Virginia can now help with immigration enforcement at the local level after Governor Glen Youngkin signed an executive order Thursday that gives them the power to work alongside Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 

The order that came down this afternoon is currently in effect. This means that Virginia State Police and corrections officers are now working with ICE.

Youngkin says this will keep Virginians safe from dangerous criminal illegal immigrants. He even specifically noted a northern Virginia rape case as proof this order is needed. 

Last November, a woman was raped along a trail in Herndon by a suspect who was in the country illegally and had a long history with law enforcement. 

What Does the Order Say? 

What we know:

Youngkin’s order directs localities to cooperate with 287(g), a program designed to allow law enforcement agencies to carry out federal immigration efforts, including deportation. 

This means state police can apprehend "criminal illegal immigrants who pose a risk to public safety" and jails now have to work with ice and report inmates who are incarcerated.

Read the Order

What Does This Mean?

Dig deeper:

Immigration attorneys in Virginia argue this executive order opens the door to racial profiling and creates distrust between the immigrant community and police.

"The 287(g) is not the best practice and it is a dangerous practice. It's a dangerous practice for many immigrants who are going to continue being victims of crimes and now they are going to be afraid to report," attorney Nash Fayad said. 

"The bottom line is, this is a fear-based tactic and fear doesn't fight crime. Trust does. This law destroys trusts and puts everyone at risk," attorney Alexander Miller said. 

Economic Impact:

Both attorneys who spoke with FOX 5 also pointed to the economic impact this order could have on the Commonwealth.

"It was tried in Virginia before in Prince William County. It cost the taxpayer an estimated $23 million over five years," said Miller. "That money could be spent on other matters that would help safety and make the community safer. These are not zero sum articles, these things are going to cost money and the taxpayer is going to bear that burden ultimately, no matter what the federal government says."

"We've tried this practice before, lots of businesses left Virginia. Lots of immigrants left Virginia and went either up North or further South," Fayad added. "We lost a lot of businesses here."

Virginia is joining a growing number of states, including Georgia, who are working with ICE to enforce immigration laws.

Response from Virginia Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell

"First all it strikes me as pretty political, I don't know why the governor waited three years to issue this," said Virginia Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell. "If it was so important, he could've issued this right at the beginning of his term. He's clearly issuing it in reaction to trying to get on the Trump train. But beyond that, he's basically ordering the state police to do things they pretty already do as far as I'm concerned. They're required by state law to report whenever they arrest someone who's undocumented. State police don't incarcerate, the prisons do. The prisons report to ICE when they're releasing somebody — especially non-criminals. I just don't understand what the point of it is. "

Regarding the issue of a jail not holding an undocumented person, Surovell reiterated that the problem lies with ICE's failure to pick up the individual promptly. In Virginia, it is illegal to hold someone past their prison sentence.