Twenty-seven Virginia county agencies are authorized to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations despite Democratic Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s efforts to break ties with the agency, documents show.
Two county jail authorities and 25 sheriff’s offices signed contracts with President Donald Trump’s ICE between February and December 2025, according to a Daily Caller News Foundation review of the agreements. Spanberger repealed former Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s executive order promoting such contracts, but she cannot stop ICE-friendly counties from assisting federal officials in identifying, detaining and transfering illegal immigrants for deportation.
Spanberger’s party now controls Virginia’s executive branch and both state legislative chambers. Her office did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
The governor has argued on the campaign trail that immigration agents should have to show a warrant for someone’s capture if they want local law enforcement cooperation, though she denied that this would make Virginia a “sanctuary” state for illegal immigrants, The Virginian-Pilot reported. As a U.S. representative, she opposed some tough immigration bills such as Trump’s Laken Riley Act, which requires federal detention for illegal immigrants charged with various crimes. She also supported an amnesty bill for undocumented farm workers.
Youngkin’s now-repealed immigration order directed state law enforcement agencies to sign cooperation memos with ICE — known as 287(g) agreements — while requesting every sheriff or local jail official to do the same. Liberal jurisdictions such as Fairfax County and Alexandria refused to cooperate, while more than two dozen counties and five state agencies signed the memos.
The agreements signed at the county level allow sheriff’s offices to interrogate any migrants about their immigration status, arrest anyone without a warrant for illegally entering the country, hold illegal immigrants in lieu of ICE custody and transport them to ICE detention centers. They may also assist immigration cases via arrest warrants, charging documents, fingerprint collection, photographs and interviews.
The contracts gave more limited powers to the Loudoun, Pittsylvania and Alleghany County sheriff’s offices and two local jail agencies covering several counties, focused mainly on executing immigration warrants in their own jails and transfers to ICE.
Spanberger’s administration can only terminate the state-level contracts, and until it does, the Virginia State Police, Department of Corrections (DOC), the DOC’s Office of Law Enforcement Services, Marine Resources Commission and Department of Wildlife Resources are allowed to help with various ICE functions.
Spanberger called Youngkin’s pro-ICE policy “not an appropriate use of state or local resources” in her day-one executive order overturning it. “Ensuring public safety in Virginia requires state and local law enforcement to be focused on their core responsibilities of investigating and deterring criminal activity, staffing jails, and community engagement,” her order reads.
“Federal authorities should enforce federal civil immigration laws — law enforcement in the Commonwealth should prioritize the safety and security of all residents in Virginia, the enforcement of local and state laws, and coordination with federal entities on criminal matters,” Spanberger wrote.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].
