Abigail Spanberger Says One Of Her First Moves As Governor Would Be Rolling Back Cooperation With ICE

Democratic Virginia gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger said one of her first moves in office would be rolling back Virginia law enforcement’s cooperation with federal immigration authorities, such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Spanberger, if elected in November, has vowed to rescind an executive order issued by term-limited Republican Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin that requires state police and local jails to assist ICE efforts in the commonwealth. The Democratic nominee’s pledge to scrap state law enforcement’s work with federal immigration authorities comes as ICE has conducted more than 4,000 arrests across Virginia since the beginning of President Donald Trump’s second term.

“I would rescind his executive order, yes,” Spanberger told the Virginia Mercury in an interview published Wednesday. “The idea that we would take local police officers or local sheriff’s deputies in amid all the things that they have to do, like community policing or staffing our jails or investigating real crimes, so that they can go and tear families apart … that is a misuse of those resources.”

Spanberger served three terms in the House of Representatives between 2019 and 2025 prior to running for governor. She notably opposed House Republicans’ comprehensive border security legislation known as H.R.2, the Secure the Border Act, in May 2023. The bill would have required the federal government to resume construction of the southern border wall, placed new restrictions on the asylum process and blocked illegal immigrants from the U.S. workforce by mandating employers to verify the legal status of their staff.