by James A. Bacon
Governor Glenn Youngkin wants to eliminate sanctuary cities in Virginia. He faces tough opposition from Democrats in the General Assembly, but I see the issue as a political winner no matter what the legislative outcome.
The Governor announced yesterday that he plans to introduce a budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year that would withhold police and jail funding from localities that refuse to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities seeking to detain illegal immigrants already in local custody.
Dozens of Virginia localities have adopted policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities to varying degrees. With the term “sanctuary studies” in bad odor, some have rebranded their policies as “building trust” with immigrant communities for purposes of combating crime. But the practical effect is the same.
If Democrats want to take the pro-criminal side of the immigration debate, then they’re committing electoral suicide. Do they really want to be painted as defending the rights of violent Salvadoran MS-13 gang members like Melvin Canales Saldana — sentenced to life in prison for involvement in multiple murders — to stay in the U.S.?
It’s one thing to feel compassion for “dreamers” who grew up in Virginia and have lost any connection with their country of origin. (I, for one, do.) Likewise, it’s possible to sympathize with illegal immigrants have lived in the country for years, worked hard for a living, paid taxes, and stayed out of trouble with the law. It’s a leap of Olympic proportions to defend those who not only entered the country illegally but continued breaking the law when they got here.
It is often said that illegal aliens are less likely to commit crimes than native-born Americans. That may or may not be true. But so what if it is? Some illegals do commit crimes, and they have no right to stay in the country.
According to a recent CBS/YouGov poll, 57% of Americans support deporting all undocumented residents. Without a doubt, a higher percentage would support deporting undocumented criminals. I would wager that immigrant communities support the deportation of criminals at an even higher rate than the general public because criminal foreigners tend to prey on members of their own communities. (Immigrants are more vulnerable to such criminal behavior than the educated white elites who are most likely to support “progressive” approaches to crime and immigration.)
“Several localities and several jails in Virginia have implemented sanctuary policies in recent years … and as a direct result of these reckless and flagrant, irresponsible policies, violent criminals are allowed back into our communities,” the Governor said at an afternoon news conference, reports The Washington Post.
If Youngkin succeeds in pushing his proposal through the General Assembly in the 2025 session, he racks up a big political win. If he fails, he sets up Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears for her gubernatorial run later in the year.
“Any local elected official who instructs law enforcement to defy efforts to keep Virginians safe abandons their duty and breaks the trust of the people they swore to protect,” said Earle-Sears, a legal Jamaican immigrant.
By contrast, noted the WaPo, “Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Virginia), who is likely to face Earle-Sears in the governor’s race, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.”
Spanberger knows this is a no-win proposition for her.
Senate Majority Leader Scott A. Surovell, D-Fairfax — who is not running for statewide office — was less reticent.
“What [Youngkin] will do, by trying to inflame the public on this issue, is disincentivize crime victims and cooperating witnesses from participating in investigations to solve actual violent crime,” he said.
I suspect that Surovell reflects the vibe of Virginia’s Democratic Party.
Democrats are walking back their defund-the-police rhetoric, but they’re still viewed as squishy on crime. They’re walking back their open-borders rhetoric, but they’re still viewed as squishy on illegal immigration. Defending non-cooperation with ICE, where the crime and immigration issues intersect, is madness.
A year ago, Youngkin campaigned on getting a stricter abortion bill through the General Assembly. It looks like he’s learned his lesson. I don’t see how he can lose this one.
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