Gov. Glenn Youngkin has signed an executive order directing Virginia State Police and the Virginia Department of Corrections to partner with the Trump administration on federal immigration enforcement.
Youngkin is also requesting that localities cooperate with ICE removal and other enforcement operations.
“As governor, protecting our citizens is my foremost responsibility, and today we are taking action that will make Virginia safer by removing dangerous criminal illegal immigrants from our Commonwealth,” Youngkin said, according to a press release from his office announcing the executive order, in which the MAGA governor was also quoted as saying “dangerous criminal illegal immigrants should not be let back into our communities to assault, rape and murder. They should be sent back where they came from.”
Of note: the sitting lieutenant governor, Winsome Earle-Sears, who is now facing not one, but two challenges from the far right in her bid to win the Republican Party nomination for governor, was cited in the release as being on board with the governor, who has endorsed her bid to succeed him.
“I am a legal immigrant and now a naturalized citizen. Working together, the governor, attorney general and I have made Virginia safer. We supported more funding for law enforcement and tackled violent crimes in our cities. Now, working with President Trump, we can take on the scourge of dangerous and violent illegal immigrants,” said Earle-Sears, who is trailing presumptive Democratic Party nominee Abigail Spanberger by double-digits in a pair of statewide polls, which is what prompted her two MAGA challengers, failed state legislators Dave LaRock and Amanda Chase, to enter the GOP nomination race.
“We’ve seen too many tragic stories after dangerous criminals in this country illegally were put back on the streets, and this executive order will make sure we send them back to where they came from,” said Earle-Sears, a Black woman who immigrated to the United States from Jamaica as a child, and was raised in New York City before relocating to Virginia.
“As I have said before, Virginia’s law enforcement professionals have both the authority and a moral duty to cooperate with every lawful federal immigration order to the maximum extent possible,” said Attorney General Jason Miyares, who is running for re-election to the AF post in the 2025 cycle. “Keeping Virginians safe from violent criminals is our top priority. Today’s executive order makes one thing crystal clear. If you are present in this country illegally and commit a violent crime, you will be arrested and deported consistent with the law.”
Youngkin’s executive order directs the Virginia State Police and the Department of Corrections to sign Section 287(g) agreements with ICE and directs the Secretary of Public Safety & Homeland Security to request a certification from local and regional jail authorities confirming their full cooperation with ICE.
The order also creates a State Police task force of federally deputized troopers to assist in the identification and apprehension of criminal illegal immigrants who pose a risk to public safety.
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Chris Graham
