Virginia’s new governor didn’t waste a minute — and critics say the fallout won’t either.
Within hours of taking office, Democrat Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed Executive Order 10, wiping out a Trump-era-style crackdown that pushed Virginia law enforcement to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The order rescinds a directive issued by her Republican predecessor, former Gov. Glenn Youngkin, that instructed state law enforcement and corrections officials to assist ICE and encouraged localities to cooperate during enforcement operations.
And Republicans are calling it a public safety wrecking ball.
“By directing our local law enforcement to stop working with federal law enforcement agencies, our streets have become less safe with a stroke of the pen,” former Virginia GOP Attorney General Jason Miyares said in a statement.
“This is a disaster for the public safety of the Commonwealth. Mark my words, there will be Virginians who will be robbed, raped and murdered as a result of this anti public safety executive order,” Miyares continued. “No one should be surprised.”
Youngkin’s executive order — signed in February 2025 — was pitched as a public safety measure, designed to boost coordination with federal immigration authorities through 287(g)-style cooperation. Youngkin’s administration said the policy helped ICE take custody of criminal illegal migrants.
And per data his administration provided to the Daily Caller News Foundation, more than 6,200 individuals living in the country illegally were arrested across Virginia between February 2025 and November 2025 — including alleged MS-13 members, Tren de Aragua gangbangers, and other transnational criminal associates.
Now, Spanberger has ripped the order up — and Virginia’s immigration battle lines are drawn.
