The Department of Justice (DOJ) is warning that Virginia risks becoming \u201cthe next California\u201d in the Trump administration\u2019s fight against resistance to federal immigration enforcement after filing a new lawsuit last week.
\n\u201cWe are suing Virginia to prevent Virginia from becoming the next sanctuary jurisdiction, just like California,\u201d DOJ Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division Brett Shumate told Fox News Digital in a Zoom interview.
\nThe lawsuit, first shared with Fox News Digital earlier in June, argues Virginia is violating the Constitution by trying to regulate federal law enforcement operations, including restrictions on agents\u2019 masks, identification requirements and conditions on local cooperation with ICE.
\n\u201cUnder our Constitution, the states do not get to regulate or dictate how the federal government performs its duties, and that is especially the case when it comes to law enforcement. Virginia passed two bills in this newest session, one that restricts the ability of law enforcement officers to wear facial coverings and requires officers, federal agents, to wear identification badges,\u201d said Shumate.
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He said the other bill \u201crestricts cooperation agreements between local law enforcement agencies, like sheriffs, and ICE to voluntarily cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.\u201d
\nThe lawsuit names Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones and left-wing Fairfax County Commonwealth Attorney Steve Descano \u2014 who was previously backed by groups connected to George Soros.\u00a0
\nWhile DOJ has not heard back from state officials, Shumate shared that the department feels confident about the previous case due to precedent.
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\u201cWe brought a nearly identical lawsuit against California earlier this year, and we won that case,\u201d he said.
\n\u00a0\u201cCongratulations, Virginia,\u201d Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom\u2019s chief deputy director of communications, Diana Crofts-Pelayo, told Fox News Digital when asked about DOJ\u2019s comparison.
\nIn April, a federal appeals court handed the Trump administration a legal victory over Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. The court blocked California from requiring federal immigration agents to display identification during operations.
\nHe says they are asserting the same legal theory in this case.
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\u201cUnder the Constitution, the Supremacy Clause in particular, the states do not get to regulate or discriminate against the federal government,\u201d said Shumate. \u201cThat\u2019s exactly what Virginia has done. They have attempted to regulate how the federal goes about its business. They do not have the authority to do that under the constitution.\u201d
\nThe two Virginia laws are set to take effect July 1 and Shumate shared the DOJ plans to move quickly to a district court judge to enjoin these laws from taking effect. Virginia was previously a solidly red state, voting for Republicans in nearly every presidential election for decades before shifting to the left in the last roughly 20 years.\u00a0
\n\u201cWe will be filing very quickly in the district Court in Virginia to seek an injunction to stop these laws from taking effect, which these laws have criminal penalties that put federal agents at risk, not only of criminal prosecution, but also at risk of doxing and harassment,\u201d he added.
\nICE has defended the practice of agents concealing their identities during operations, saying last summer as Trump\u2019s intensifying immigration crackdown prompted anti-ICE protests and riots that rhetoric on the left had caused a spike in \u201cthreats and assaults against [agents\u2019] families.\u201d
\nShumate shared the department is looking at several bills in other states that are considering mask restrictions.
\n\u201cAny state that\u2019s considering passing this type of bill is on notice that we will file a lawsuit and we will ask for an injunction to block those laws from taking effect,\u201d said Shumate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"