Virginia Democrat Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s attempts to disrupt cooperation with federal immigration enforcement efforts have been temporarily blocked by a federal judge.
U.S. District Judge Robert Payne said in his ruling Monday that the federal government would likely succeed in the lawsuit against the restrictions on federal cooperation.
‘My office strongly disagrees with the judge’s order and will urgently file a motion to stay this ruling and appeal.’
Payne, an appointee of President George H.W. Bush, issued a preliminary injunction against the order while the case continues going through the legal process.
The Trump administration argued that the Virginia law violates the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution as well as the Contract Clause.
Spanberger had signed the law, and Attorney General Jay Jones began cracking down on the Greene County sheriff for continuing to work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and aiding in 50 arrests.
The order from Payne will allow law enforcement officials and state prisons to cooperate with ICE operations, but not for new agreements to be made.
Jones said he would appeal the order from Payne.
“My office strongly disagrees with the judge’s order and will urgently file a motion to stay this ruling and appeal the temporary injunction,” he wrote in a statement, according to the Virginia Mercury.
Jones argued that the state had the right to order state officials against cooperation.
“The General Assembly was well within its legal authority to pass this law and to put statutory requirements in place to ensure Virginia’s already resource-constrained localities and law enforcement agencies are not devoting critical resources toward carrying out responsibilities that rest solely with the federal government,” he added.
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The Department of Homeland Security had vehemently criticized Spanberger after she signed the restrictions on ICE cooperation.
“The heroes of ICE will continue to arrest and remove criminal illegal aliens across the Commonwealth while Governor Spanberger RELEASES them from jails into Virginia communities to commit more crimes and create more victims,” the statement read.
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