State governments cannot tell the federal government how to do its job, no matter how much they may disagree with a given policy. Such was the message of last week’s injunction blocking Virginia’s “287g law,” which would have invalidated the federal government’s immigration enforcement agreements with a number of local governments and law enforcement agencies. The bad news keeps coming for Governor Abigail Spanberger and Attorney General Jay Jones – at this point, the chorus of “I told you so’s” from House Republicans seems redundant.
Last week, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Payne issued an injunction that blocked the Commonwealth’s enforcement of Virginia code section 15.2-1726.1, the so-called “287g law” passed by General Assembly Democrats last session. The goal of the law was simple – to end local government and law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration enforcement officials. Essentially, Democrats sought to end that cooperation by invalidating any agreement between local governments and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that did not meet strict requirements. As written, the requirements would have neutered ICE efforts by putting extreme limits on how and when enforcement against illegal immigration could take place.
States cannot do that, Judge Payne said, and he blocked enforcement of the law until the case – brought forth by the U.S. Department of Justice – is resolved. Republicans have warned Democrats over and over again in committee and on the House floor that this was a likely outcome of their legislation, and once again, they did not listen. States cannot tell the federal government how to do its job – that is a concept as old as the Constitution itself and it has not changed in the past 200 years.
The injunction also rests on something called the “Contracts Clause,” which prevents states from making laws that impair the obligation of contracts. In this case, the federal government has contracts with a number of Virginia localities under section 287g to assist with enforcement of laws targeting illegal immigration in their communities. Democrats tried to void these contracts unless they were reworked to meet a list of conditions that they wrote into state code. Local governments that have been working with ICE have already been in Attorney General Jay Jones’ crosshairs – as mentioned in a past article, the Sheriff of Greene County is under investigation after openly cooperating with federal officials.
Whether it is the Second Amendment or federal supremacy, Democrats in the General Assembly could have saved Virginia taxpayers a lot in legal fees if they had only listened to Republicans.
As the Delegate representing the 42nd House District in the Virginia General Assembly, your concerns are my greatest priority. If ever I may be of assistance to you and your family, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at [email protected]. You can also follow me on Twitter @JasonBallardVA or like my Facebook page, Jason Ballard for Delegate, to keep up to date with what I am doing in Richmond and in our community on your behalf.
