WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the Commonwealth of Virginia, Attorney General Jay Jones, and Fairfax County Commonwealth Attorney Steve Descano, challenging state laws that criminally prohibit federal officers from wearing masks, require individual identifiers, and functionally ban cooperative 287(g) agreements with local law enforcement agencies.
The complaint, filed in federal court, alleges the Virginia statutes — Virginia Code §§ 19.2-83.6:1 and 15.2-1726.1 — are an unconstitutional attempt to regulate the federal government and threaten the safety of officers who have faced what the department described as an unprecedented wave of harassment, doxing, and even violence.
“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,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “Virginia’s anti-law enforcement policies regulate the federal government and are designed to create risk for our agents. These laws cannot stand.”
Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward targeted Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger directly. “Governor Spanberger cannot tell Federal officers how to do their job,” Woodward said. “And she certainly cannot prohibit them from ensuring their own safety in conducting Federal law enforcement operations. Our suit today stops those unconstitutional efforts.”
The 287(g) provision is central to the dispute. The federal program authorizes local law enforcement agencies to partner with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to identify and process illegal immigrants in local custody. Virginia’s law functionally bars numerous local agencies from entering or maintaining such agreements, according to the complaint.
“The Department of Justice will steadfastly protect the privacy and safety of law enforcement from unconstitutional state laws like Virginia’s,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.
The lawsuit is the latest in a series of federal challenges brought by the Civil Division against state and local policies the department says are designed to thwart federal law enforcement. Acting Attorney General Blanche has instructed the division to identify such laws across the country, with suits already filed targeting policies in New Jersey and California.