A federal court has issued a temporary stay (injunction) against a new Virginia law intended to restrict cooperation between local governments and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). As a result, existing federal immigration enforcement cooperation programs are expected to remain in place without interruption while the legal battle continues.
Senior U.S. District Judge Robert Payne of the U.S. District Court in Richmond issued a preliminary injunction on August 31, barring Virginia from applying key provisions of the new law to federal immigration officers or federal agencies, and prohibiting it from interfering with existing '287(g) federal immigration agreements.'
The 287(g) program is a system that delegates certain federal immigration enforcement authorities to state and local police officers who have completed specific training. Previously, the Virginia General Assembly mandated that existing agreements be renegotiated by September 1 to include 12 strict conditions—such as requiring a judicial warrant and restricting enforcement near schools, religious facilities, and courthouses—or else be nullified.
However, this federal court decision allows local municipalities with existing 287(g) agreements to continue their cooperation without modifying them. Nevertheless, while the court approved the maintenance of existing agreements, it upheld the state law provision that prohibits new municipalities that have not previously participated in the 287(g) program from entering into new agreements.
In his ruling, Judge Payne stated that "Virginia's new legislation likely violates the Contract Clause and the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution," explaining that the federal government could suffer irreparable harm if the injunction were not granted.
In response to the ruling, Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones made it clear that the state will immediately appeal. Jones emphasized, "The state legislature has the authority to prevent limited local administrative and police resources from being misused for immigration enforcement, which is the federal government's inherent duty," adding, "We will promptly pursue an appeal along with a motion to stay the federal court's preliminary injunction."
Meanwhile, this legal dispute is drawing significant attention from the local community as federal immigration enforcement has recently intensified significantly around the Washington D.C. suburbs. According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), a total of 1,328 people were arrested during a massive two-week ICE operation conducted in Virginia and Maryland from August 1 to August 14.