Judge Pauses Key Part of Virginia Law Limiting ICE Cooperation
“directly regulates the conduct of federal law enforcement in the enforcement of the federal immigration laws, thereby violating the intergovernmental immunity doctrine.”
U.S. District Court Judge Robert Payne in Richmond, VA, placed a temporary injunction on a key part of a law that limits cooperation with ICE.
Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed SB 783 and HB 1441 in May, which banned state and local law enforcement from entering into any agreements under Section 287(g) of federal immigration law.
The law also would force law enforcement to end any existing agreements with ICE.
The Washington Post reported that 28 Virginia law enforcement entities “have existing contracts with ICE.”
The DOJ sued Virginia in June.
“Virginia seeks to override Congress’s enactments that provide that ICE may enter into agreements with States and localities in which ICE trains local officers in immigration enforcement matters and provides them with the authority to conduct such matters under the color of Federal law,” the DOJ wrote in the lawsuit.
Payne determined that Virginia could not interfere with any existing agreements between law enforcement and ICE.
The judge wrote that the federal government will likely prevail in its lawsuit against Virginia for numerous reasons.
First, Payne concluded that the law violates the Constitution’s Contracts Clause.
The Virginia law “is a ‘substantial impairment’ of the existing contracts between the federal government and Virginia localities.”
Payne also decided the government would prevail with its Supremacy Clause claim because the law “directly regulates the conduct of federal law enforcement in the enforcement of the federal immigration laws, thereby violating the intergovernmental immunity doctrine.”
Payne wrote that the injunction is necessary since the government would likely suffer irreparable injury since the law impairs the “valid contract rights and existing 287 (g) agreements.” There currently is “no remedy at law for that impairment.”
The temporary injunction also is in the public interest.
However, Payne did not touch one part of the law. Virginia can still prevent “localities or local law enforcement officers, which, who have not previously entered into 287 agreements from entering into 287(g) agreements for the first time.”
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Comments
Further to my comment in a previous post about Democrat-appointed judges making up 💩 to fit their political outlook, here’s Judge Robert Payne, a Bush I appointee, doing the opposite. He’s pushing back on woke as 🤮 up by Frau Spanburger.
Not bad for an 85 year old jurist.
We need more like him. But unless Rs elected start reminding themselves why they are where they are, we the people will continues to lose. These female (and male) democrat judges are for the birds. Simply AWFL.
Good to see that the DoJ is being more aggressive and more creative in pushing back on sanctuary State policies and that at least a few jurists at District CT level will apply the law v feels.
Another huge issue is the DoJ revising its 1998 Price of Legal Counsel opinion/interpretation which provided guidance re the ’96 welfare reform ‘Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act’ which had previously narrowed State reporting requirements. Then new OLC guidance makes plain that States must report broadly from ALL State activities to the Feds re illegal aliens or risk Federal funding of ‘welfare’ programs like TANF and Supplemental Security Income funding which is what the statute actually called for.
This sounds about right. The states clearly do have the right to forbid local officers from cooperating with the feds. The Supreme Court said that back in the 1830s or thereabouts, and has never changed its mind. But it makes sense that where they have already signed valid contracts, the state can’t force them to break those contracts. It has to let them run their course, and then it can forbid renewing them.
And it was always obvious that the state can’t regulate how federal officers do their jobs. That part of the VA legislation was always going to be struck down.
Frankly, I’m tired of articles that begin with “Judge pauses” or similar.
Abigail Spanberger (pronounced “Ava Braun”?) certainly has proven out to be quite the traitorous termagant. The Virginia Virago is throwing her all into turning that commonwealth into being the DSA toilet bowl it can be.
Does the photograph make Spanberger look more clueless than she is?
Is that possible?
Governor Spanberger and Senator Slotkin are each “ex-CIA” if there is any such thing.
Now do New York.
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