This story was reported and written by our media partner the Virginia Mercury.
Ahead of his annual budget presentation to lawmakers next week, Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Thursday announced a proposal to block state funding from any locality implementing a “sanctuary city” policy and “refusing to comply with federal law to deport” undocumented immigrants who have committed a crime.
The term sanctuary city refers to localities that choose to have limited or no cooperation with the U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement.
If adopted in the final state budget, the Department of Criminal Justice Services director will be required to withhold from sanctuary city localities state funding that is usually earmarked for local police departments. The Compensation Board will also be required to withhold state per diem payments to local and regional jails.
The proposal would also require local law enforcement and jail officials to provide notification to ICE 48 hours ahead of the release of immigrants lacking permanent legal status who have committed a crime.
Youngkin’s administration noted a recent report of an immigrant man in the U.S. illegallywith a previous criminal history who allegedly raped a woman on a running trail in Herndon, court documents show. Youngkin’s announcement also pointed out an instance this summer in Fairfax County where an undocumented person suspected of sex crimes against minors was not detained.
A handful of cities and counties in Virginia have adopted policies to stop f law enforcement and municipal staff from voluntarily inquiring about a person’s immigration status, including Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax County and the city of Richmond. While most of the policies do entail compliance with ICE as federally mandated, they outline how municipal staff don’t need to make extra efforts to identify people who are potentially here illegally.
For example, Arlington’s 2022 Trust Policy states that the city “will comply with all applicable federal or state regulations mandating cooperation with ICE and other federal immigration
officials … but will otherwise restrict sharing of personally identifiable information that could be used to further immigration enforcement efforts.”
A 2017 directive from Richmond mayor Levar Stoney, however, entails noncompliance with ICE. Richmond City Jail and a few others around Virginia were listed as “non-compliant institutions” in an ICE report from June 2024.
As of late November, according to the DCJS, nearly 1,000 incarcerated people in Virginia have had open immigration detainer.
In order for Youngkin’s proposal to take effect, it will need to be approved by the state legislature during 2025’s state budget negotiations.
