Trump’s ICE Recruited Army Of Sheriffs, Jails Before State Went Blue
Twenty-seven Virginia county agencies are authorized to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) despite efforts by Virginia Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger to cut 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 review of the deals by the Daily Caller News Foundation. Spanberger repealed former Virginia Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s executive order promoting such contracts, but she can’t stop ICE-friendly counties from helping federal officials identify, detain and transfer illegal immigrants for deportation. (RELATED: Democrats Take Control of State, Act Immediately to Loosen Crime Laws)
In the first hours that Democrats took full control of Richmond, they made it easier to keep illegal immigrants who commit crimes against Virginians in the Commonwealth by repealing EO 47.
By ordering our local law enforcement to stop working with…
– Jason Miyares (@JasonMiyaresVA) January 17, 2026
Spanberger’s party now controls Virginia’s executive branch and both state legislative chambers. His office did not respond to DCNF’s request for comment.
The governor argued on the campaign trail that immigration agents should be required to present a warrant for someone’s arrest if they want to cooperate with local law enforcement, although she denied that doing so 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 of illegal immigrants accused of various crimes. She also supported an amnesty bill for undocumented farmworkers.
Youngkin’s now-repealed immigration order ordered law enforcement agencies across the state to sign cooperation memos with ICE — known as 287(g) agreements — while requiring every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 question all migrants about their immigration status, arrest anyone without a warrant for illegal entry into the country, detain illegal immigrants in lieu of ICE custody, and transport them to ICE detention centers. They can also assist with immigration cases through arrest warrants, charging documents, fingerprint collection, photographs and interviews. (RELATED: Fairfax County Released Illegally Despite ICE Request – Now One Man Is Dead)
NEW: The Fairfax County VA released a jailed illegal alien with a lengthy criminal record despite ICE’s arrest request, after which he fatally shot a man in his home, officials say. @DailyCaller 👇 pic.twitter.com/b4cl1hK0NM
-Hudson Crozier 🇺🇸 (@Hudson_Crozier) December 18, 2025
The contracts gave more limited powers to sheriffs’ offices in Loudoun, Pittsylvania and Alleghany counties as well as two local jail agencies spanning multiple counties, focusing primarily on the enforcement of immigration warrants in their own jails and transfers to ICE.
Spanberger’s administration can only terminate contracts at the state level, and in the meantime, the Virginia State Police, Department of Corrections (DOC), DOC Office of Law Enforcement Services, Marine Resources Commission, and Department of Wildlife Resources are authorized to assist with various ICE functions.
Spanberger called Youngkin’s pro-ICE policy “not an appropriate use of state or local resources” in his first executive order rescinding it. “Ensuring public safety in Virginia requires state and local law enforcement to focus on their primary responsibilities of investigating and deterring criminal activity, staffing prisons, and community engagement,” his order states.
“Federal authorities should enforce federal civil immigration laws – law enforcement in the Commonwealth should prioritize the safety and security of all Virginia residents, enforcement of local and state laws, and coordination with federal entities in criminal matters,” Spanberger wrote.
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