Federal judge blocks Spanberger’s sanctuary law as ICE arrests surge

A federal judge has blocked a Virginia law enacted by Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) that restricts cooperation between Virginia local law enforcement agencies and federal immigration authorities. The federal government sued Virginia, arguing that the order unlawfully interferes with the federal government’s authority over immigration enforcement.Virginia had asked the court to put the injunction on hold while it appeals. The judge rejected the request, finding Virginia had not shown it was likely to succeed on appeal or that it would suffer the type of irreparable harm necessary to justify a stay. Meaning the court’s block on the law remains in effect while the legal fight continues. Recommended Stories A federal court has enjoined a new Virginia law preventing Virginia localities from cooperating with the federal government’s immigration enforcement efforts. pic.twitter.com/bpnXCIqBw0— Brett Shumate (@AAGShumate) August 31, 2026 The development comes as Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones has launched an investigation into the Greene County Sheriff’s Office for coordinating with ICE, leading to around 50 arrests.On her first day in office, Spanberger ended immigration enforcement efforts and agreements between Virginia law enforcement and federal immigration authorities by signing executive orders banning state cooperation with ICE and terminating 287(g) state and local agreements. Crime tied to illegal immigration has made a huge dent in Spanberger’s plummeting popularity.Bert Mizusawa, who is the Republican Senate candidate in Virginia running to unseat Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), called Spanberger’s move “an unconstitutional power grab beyond the authority of Virginia’s executive branch.”“It appears that it was not enough for Governor Spanberger’s administration to violate the Virginia Constitution with its redistricting referendum earlier this year,” Mizusawa said in a statement exclusively to the Washington Examiner. “Now they are violating the United States Constitution with its attempt to prevent the cooperation of Virginia law enforcement agencies charged with the federal responsibility to enforce immigration laws.”The retired Major General of the United States Army went on to say, it “is basic common sense” to carry out the laws of our nation.“After serving over 40 years in uniform, I know how difficult it is to enforce laws where physical presence and potential violence are part of the job,” Mizusawa said. “Our law enforcement agencies deserve better from our political leaders.”“You are seeing the bitter fruit of the failures of sanctuary policies, and the people paying the price are innocent Virginians & innocent Americans,” Former Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares said. “It is tragic to see because it is so preventable.”On Monday, DHS revealed they had arrested Nelson Cruz-Urquilla, a criminal illegal alien from El Salvador, convicted of first-degree murder in Chesterfield, Virginia.Only a week before ICE announced a two-week immigration enforcement operation that led to more than 1,300 illegal immigrants being arrested in Washington, D,C,, Maryland, and Virginia.“Of the 1,328 illegal aliens arrested, almost 400 have either been convicted or charged with crimes in the United States,” the statement read. “ICE officers made these arrests despite the sanctuary policies of many of the counties throughout Virginia and Maryland. Seventy percent of ICE arrests are of illegal immigrants who have already been charged with or convicted of a crime in the United States, according to ICE’s website.The numbers don’t end there. On Aug. 27, ICE listed the egregious crimes committed by people in the country illegally under Spanberger’s sanctuary state policies. In Fairfax County alone, people in the country illegally account for half of all murder suspects so far this year.In April, Israel Christopher Flores-Ortiz, who is here illegally from El Salvador, was convicted of nine counts of assault and battery for groping multiple underage girls at a high school in Fairfax County.Also in April, the Fairfax County District Attorney’s Office, led by George Soros-funded Steve Descano, offered a five-year plea deal to two illegal immigrants who murdered a man at a park in Oakton, Virginia.Guatemalan Misael Lopez Gomez was arrested and charged with murder and felony child abuse for bludgeoning his own 3-month-old daughter to death in Fairfax County on April 1.In March, Anibal Armando Chavarria Muy, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder after fatally stabbing a man inside his home in Bailey’s Crossroads, Virginia.In February, Abdul Jalloh, an illegal alien from Sierra Leone with more than 30 prior arrests, was charged with murder after fatally stabbing 41-year-old Stephanie Minter at a bus stop in Hybla Valley, Virginia.Minter’s family has now started a petition to recall Descano.“This was not an unavoidable tragedy,” her mother, Cheryl Minter, wrote in the petition. “It was the predictable consequence of decisions made by Descano.”INSIDE THE LEFTIST NETWORK WORKING TO SABOTAGE TRUMP’S DC PROSECUTIONSThe petition has already been signed by the National Association of Police Organizations, the National Association of Bail Agents, and Miyares. Stephanie Minter was murdered by an illegal immigrant with 30 prior arrests, & Fairfax prosecutor Steve Descano pushed sanctuary policies that have seen half the murders in Fairfax conducted by an illegal immigrant this year alone. Now Stephanie’s mom has started a recall…— Jason Miyares (@JasonMiyaresVA) August 27, 2026 “Stephanie Minter was murdered by an illegal immigrant with 30 prior arrests,” Miyares wrote on X. “Fairfax prosecutor Steve Descano pushed sanctuary policies that have seen half the murders in Fairfax conducted by an illegal immigrant this year alone.”