Greene County Sheriff Steven Smith has lawyered up in the face of a demand for information into his agency’s continued work with ICE in violation of state law from Attorney General Jay Jones.
A release from the law office of Bill Stanley, a MAGA state senator from Bedford County, announced that Stanley has been retained by Smith in response to an inquiry from the AG’s office into the activities of the sheriff’s office’s continued cooperation with ICE under the terms of what is known as a 287(g) agreement.
Gov. Abigail Spanberger issued an executive order in February terminating existing 287(g) agreements for state law enforcement agencies, and a state law that went into effect on July 1 restricts the ability of local agencies to work with ICE without a judicial warrant.
A federal judge, Robert E. Payne, a George H.W. Bush appointee, issued a preliminary injunction on Monday blocking enforcement of that law.
Lots going on in this sphere, obviously.
The AG’s office has given Smith until Friday, Sept. 4, to respond to its inquiry into the Greene County Sheriff’s Office continued joint traffic-stop operations with ICE that have led to scores of arrests.
The release from the Stanley Law Group tells us that the state senator has responded on the sheriff’s behalf with a question about that deadline against the backdrop of Monday’s federal court injunction.
“The men and women of the Greene County Sheriff’s Office are among the finest law enforcement officers in the Commonwealth, and their cooperation with federal authorities was lawful, professional, and a matter of public record. It appears clear to me that the Virginia Attorney General’s office is seeking to vilify and punish our local sheriff’s offices for simply doing their job in enforcing the law and keeping the citizens of Virginia safe,” Stanley said in a statement highlighted in the release.
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Chris Graham
