Then Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger at a press conference in Richmond on Dec. 18, 2025. (Courtesy of Spanberger for Governor)
Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger has issued an executive order to terminate controversial agreements between state law enforcement agencies and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger announced Wednesday the end of controversial agreements between state law enforcement agencies and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Under the agreements, known as 287(g) agreements, law enforcement officers carry out some aspects of federal immigration policy, but they have come under intense scrutiny amidPresident Donald Trump’s violent crackdown on immigrants and protestors.
Former Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Trump loyalist, issued an executive order requiring some state agencies to enter into 287(g) agreements and encouraged local law enforcement agencies to follow suit.
Spanberger rescinded Youngkin’s executive order on her first day in office last month, but stopped short of terminating the 287(g) agreements until Wednesday’s order.
Spanberger’s order directs the Virginia State Police, the Virginia Department of Corrections, the Virginia Conservation Police, and the Virginia Marine Police to end their existing 287(g) agreements with ICE.
“These Agreements improperly ceded discretion and authority over Virginia law enforcement to federal authorities,” Spanberger said in a statement. “I have full confidence that Virginia law enforcement agents are keeping Virginia safer when exercising their authority under Virginia law.”
More from the governor here: https://t.co/bhlendzQwc pic.twitter.com/JDpudIFuaQ
— Brandon Jarvis (@Jaaavis) February 4, 2026
Spanberger’s order to end these ICE agreements will likely be welcomed by advocates and ordinary people shocked by recent killings carried out by ICE and US Border Patrol agents, and the mass deportation program being carried out by the agencies.
As Spanberger moves to end the agreements at the state level, more than 20 local sheriffs still have 287(g) agreements with ICE, per a tally by the Legal Aid Justice Center.
News of Spanberger’s order was first reported by Brad Kutner at Radio IQ.
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