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Virginia state Sen. Saddam Azlan Salim is advancing three bills that would restrict certain immigration enforcement activities in the commonwealth, arguing that state safeguards are needed to prevent the turmoil seen in Minneapolis from reaching Virginia.
The proposals follow the fatal shootings of Minneapolis residents Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents this month. Those deaths have intensified Democratic criticism of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement strategy, with some lawmakers calling for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s impeachment.
Salim, whose district includes Fairfax City, Tysons, Oakton, Vienna, Merrifield and Falls Church, said in a statement Monday, Jan. 26, that the legislation is intended to stop “the chaos, lawlessness, and violence that we have seen perpetrated against Minnesotans from coming to Virginia.”
“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,” Salim said.
He added that when peaceful residents become targets of state violence, the public must insist that “no agency, no badge, and no president is above the law or the value of a human life.”
Each measure would impose state-level limits on certain actions involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. ICE activity has reportedly increased in Fairfax County, although not to the scale of federal deployments in Minneapolis, Washington, D.C., Portland and other cities.
Senate Bill 351 would bar civil arrests of people attending required court hearings. It also would prevent certain law enforcement personnel from entering a courthouse without a judicial warrant.
Senate Bill 352 would prohibit certain state and federal law enforcement officers from covering their faces, with limited exceptions.
Senate Bill 783 would restrict which law enforcement personnel may perform the duties of an immigration officer.
Salim said the bills have a shared purpose: assuring immigrants, protesters and other Virginians “who value peace and justice” that the commonwealth and its law enforcement agencies support them.
Other Virginia lawmakers have introduced immigration enforcement legislation during this year’s General Assembly session. Del. Alfonso Lopez, a Democrat representing the 3rd District, has proposed multiple measures that would restrict law enforcement access to nonpublic areas while carrying out enforcement actions.
Salim’s three bills must clear the Senate Courts of Justice Committee before they can advance to the full Senate. The chamber faces a Feb. 17 deadline to pass Senate bills to the House of Delegates, the same crossover deadline that applies to House legislation moving to the Senate.