Urge Governor Spanberger to protect people from unjust arrest in courthouses, schools, and polling places.

We are proud of our legislators for passing and refusing to amend HB650 and SB351.*

These bills protect Virginians from unjust ICE arrest when they come to court, seek healthcare, attend school, or vote. They do that by both requiring ICE to obtain a warrant from a judge before attempting an arrest in these spaces, and also by empowering court, hospital, school, and election officials to keep ICE out unless agents have convinced a judge to issue an arrest warrant.

And the bills have teeth. Under them, an ICE agent who carries out an arrest without a judicial warrant can be charged with contempt of court, which carries fines and jail time. Any who’ve been wrongfully arrested can sue for damages — and the Virginia Attorney General can obtain a court order to stop these kinds of arrests from happening across the state.

Governor Spanberger has told the legislature that she approves the general purpose of these bills, although she proposed changes that the General Assembly rejected. Tell her to sign the original bills into law!

*NOTE: The Governor's changes to these bills were rejected by the Legislature on April 22-23. They now go back to the Governor, who has 30 days to either Sign or Veto them. For the sake of our immigrant neighbors, she needs to sign these bills.