Great stuff by VA State Senator Saddam Salim (D-Fairfax) – see his press release, below – who really has been doing a superb job this session. Thanks! As for the three bills he just introduced to “end ICE abuses in…Virginia,” see:
- SB351: “Provides that a party who is required to attend any court of the Commonwealth, or such party’s family or household member or person attending the court with such party to serve as a witness, shall be privileged from civil arrest, defined in the bill, while attending, going to, or coming from the court. The bill also prohibits a person with the lawful authority to perform civil arrests from entering a courthouse to conduct a civil arrest unless he complies with certain requirements, including presenting a judicial warrant or judicial order authorizing the civil arrest to the appropriate courthouse officer or employee. Additionally, the bill requires that any judicial warrant or judicial order authorizing the civil arrest be reviewed by a designated judicial officer or attorney before a civil arrest pursuant to such warrant or order can be performed. Finally, the bill provides that any person who conducts a civil arrest, or facilitates or assists with the performance of, a civil arrest in violation of the provisions of the bill shall be punished with contempt of court.”
- SB352: “Law-enforcement officers; restrictions on wearing of facial coverings; exceptions; civil liability; penalty. Prohibits certain state and federal law-enforcement officers from wearing facial coverings, defined in the bill, while engaged in the performance of their official duties. The bill sets out several exceptions to such prohibition, including protective facial coverings to protect against disease, infection, and exposure to toxic substances and facial coverings worn by any law-enforcement officer assigned to a special weapons and tactics team while engaged in the performance of his official duties with such team. The bill subjects the law-enforcement officer to disciplinary action, including dismissal, demotion, suspension, transfer, or decertification, and creates a Class 1 misdemeanor for any law-enforcement officer who wears a facial covering in violation of the provisions of the bill unless the law-enforcement agency that employs such law-enforcement officer has adopted and established a written policy for and restrictions on the use of facial coverings. The bill also directs the Department of Criminal Justice Services to develop a model policy for and restrictions on the use of facial coverings by law-enforcement officers. Finally, the bill creates a civil cause of action for any person injured as a result of tortious conduct by a law-enforcement officer who knowingly and intentionally wears a facial covering in violation of the provisions of the bill. The bill provides that sovereign immunity shall not be a defense to civil liability for such tortious conduct.”
- SB783: “Law-enforcement agencies or localities; agreements with federal authority for certain immigration enforcement; limitations; collection of data. Provides that no agency of the Commonwealth, law-enforcement agency, or locality shall enter into an agreement authorizing any law-enforcement officer, as defined in the bill, or employee of such agency or locality to perform a function of an immigration officer unless such agreement is in writing and includes certain provisions and conditions. These provisions of the bill expire on June 30, 2028. The bill also adds to the list of data that the State Police, sheriff’s offices, and local law-enforcement agencies are required to collect for the purposes of the Virginia Community Policing Act whether a federal immigration officer was present during an investigatory motor vehicle stop, a stop-and-frisk, or any other investigatory stop conducted by a law-enforcement officer or State Police officer and, if so, if such federal immigration officer took any action that would constitute a violation of state law if not committed by a person acting under the color of federal law.”
Senator Salim Introduces SB351, SB352 & SB783 To End ICE Abuses in the Commonwealth of Virginia
“ICE has murdered another Minnesotan, and we need to call it what it is: state violence, plain and simple. When federal agents can kill citizens in broad daylight, block investigations, and get away with it, the rule of law isn’t on life support, it has flatlined. In response to Governor Walz’s call for an end to the violent occupation of his state, the Attorney General demanded access to Minnesota’s voter rolls, recalling President Trump’s 2020 demand that Georgia find the votes he needed to stay in power. This isn’t just mismanagement, it is a constitutional crisis.
If we let fear control the narrative now, we lose our rights, our communities, and the very idea that the government should protect life, not take it. We have to remember that when peaceful citizens start to be targets of state violence, it is exactly at that moment that we either let fear close our eyes, or we insist that no agency, no badge, and no president is above the law or the value of a human life.
The three bills I introduced share one goal: ensuring that immigrants, protesters, and all Virginians who value peace and justice know the Commonwealth of Virginia and its law enforcement agencies are on their side.”
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