VIRGINIA – Police in Virginia can now assist with immigration enforcement on the native stage after Governor Glen Youngkin signed an govt order Thursday that offers them the ability to work alongside Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The order that got here down this afternoon is presently in impact. Because of this Virginia State Police and corrections officers at the moment are working with ICE.
Youngkin says it will preserve Virginians secure from harmful legal unlawful immigrants. He even particularly famous a northern Virginia rape case as proof this order is required.
Final November, a lady was raped alongside a path in Herndon by a suspect who was within the nation illegally and had an extended historical past with regulation enforcement.
What Does the Order Say?
What we all know:
Youngkin’s order directs localities to cooperate with 287(g), a program designed to permit regulation enforcement companies to hold out federal immigration efforts, together with deportation.
This implies state police can apprehend “legal unlawful immigrants who pose a threat to public security” and jails now must work with ice and report inmates who’re incarcerated.
Learn the Order
What Does This Imply?
Dig deeper:
Immigration attorneys in Virginia argue this govt order opens the door to racial profiling and creates mistrust between the immigrant neighborhood and police.
“The 287(g) isn’t one of the best observe and it’s a harmful observe. It is a harmful observe for a lot of immigrants who’re going to proceed being victims of crimes and now they’ll be afraid to report,” legal professional Nash Fayad mentioned.
“The underside line is, this can be a fear-based tactic and concern would not combat crime. Belief does. This regulation destroys trusts and places everybody in danger,” legal professional Alexander Miller mentioned.
Financial Impression:
Each attorneys who spoke with FOX 5 additionally pointed to the financial influence this order may have on the Commonwealth.
“It was tried in Virginia earlier than in Prince William County. It price the taxpayer an estimated $23 million over 5 years,” mentioned Miller. “That cash might be spent on different issues that might assist security and make the neighborhood safer. These aren’t zero sum articles, this stuff are going to price cash and the taxpayer goes to bear that burden in the end, it doesn’t matter what the federal authorities says.”
“We have tried this observe earlier than, a lot of companies left Virginia. Numerous immigrants left Virginia and went both up North or additional South,” Fayad added. “We misplaced a variety of companies right here.”
Virginia is becoming a member of a rising variety of states, together with Georgia, who’re working with ICE to implement immigration legal guidelines.
The Supply: Workplace of Gov. Glenn Youngkin, FOX 5 reporting
