Two state laws sponsored by state Sen. Saddam Azlan Salim (D-37) seeking to restrain federal immigration enforcement agents are being challenged by the Trump administration’s Justice Department.
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia’s Richmond Division last Thursday (June 11), challenges Virginia’s incoming ban on law enforcement officers wearing face masks and restrictions on cooperation agreements between federal immigration enforcement and state and local law enforcement agencies.
The bills were passed by the General Assembly and signed this spring by Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) in response to the Trump administration’s hardline approach to immigration enforcement.
The Commonwealth of Virginia, Attorney General Jay Jones and Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano were named as defendants in the lawsuit.
Set to take effect on July, Salim’s SB 352 and companion bill HB 1482 will ban law enforcement officers from wearing a face mask while performing their duties. Violations could be charged as a Class 1 misdemeanor.
The legislation allows exemptions for facial coverings worn for health reasons, for special weapons and tactics team duties, and for law enforcement agencies that have written policies restricting facial covering use.
Salim’s SB 783 and companion bill HB 1441 — also taking effect on July 1 — will ban state and local law enforcement from entering 287(g) agreements authorizing them to assist with federal civil immigration enforcement. State agencies had been directed by Spanberger in February to end existing agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The Justice Department argues the face mask ban illegally attempts to regulate the federal government and threatens federal officers with prosecution for concealing their identities.
“Law enforcement officers risk their lives every day to keep Americans safe, and they do not deserve to be doxed or harassed simply for carrying out their duties,” Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a release. “Virginia’s anti-law enforcement policies regulate the federal government and are designed to create risk for our agents. These laws cannot stand.”
In court filings, the federal government said the legislation to restrict federal immigration agreements is “unconstitutional.”
“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 Justice Department said in the complaint.
Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones told FFXnow his office is reviewing the lawsuit.
“We remain steadfast in our mission to protect Virginians right to safe communities and transparent enforcement of the law,” Jones said in a statement.
Spanberger reaffirmed her support for the policies.
“As a former federal law enforcement officer, Governor Spanberger knows transparency, accountability, and a commitment to earning the public’s trust are prerequisite to upholding the rule of law and keeping Virginians safe,” a spokesperson for the governor’s office told FFXnow. “Law enforcement officers wearing masks on American streets undercuts these basic expectations of accountability, sows fear and confusion, and erodes the public trust that police have worked for years to build within their communities.”
Salim declined to comment on the specifics of the legal challenges.
“As a state legislator, every bill that I introduce is vetted by the nonpartisan attorneys at the Division of Legislative Services and crafted to be consistent with our state and federal constitutions,” Salim said in a statement to FFXnow. “However, my job is negotiating the policy and getting the bills signed into law.”
Descano was named in the lawsuit as a commonwealth’s attorney with the ability to enforce the law enforcement face mask ban through prosecution.
The DOJ’s complaint cited Descano’s participation in a Project to Fight Against Federal Overreach (FAFO) coalition to enforce federal agents’ violations of state law. According to the complaint, Descano has not disavowed enforcing the face mask ban law against federal officers.
FFXnow has reached out to Descano’s office for comment.
Arlington Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti is also participating in the coalition of Democratic state attorneys seeking to coordinate responses to ICE activity, but she isn’t mentioned in the DOJ complaint.
Not all bills impacting federal immigration enforcement made it past Spanberger’s desk. The governor vetoed legislation that would’ve barred immigration agents from conducting civil arrests in certain public places, including courthouses, schools and health care facilities.
Instead, Spanberger issued an executive order directing state agencies to prohibit the federal government from accessing state property or using it as a staging site for civil immigration enforcement unless officers have a “valid warrant or order.” The order also directed the state government to develop guidance for local prosecutors, hospitals, schools and elections workers for handling interactions with federal immigration officers.
