Spanberger: Police Immigration Enforcement “A Distraction of Resources”

The Virginia Democrat hopeful has drawn criticism from the Department of Homeland Security for previous comments.

Published July 1, 2025

Democrat gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger blasted immigration enforcement by local police in a recent interview with Virginia Journalist Michael O’Connor.

“It’s actually a distraction of resources both in terms of personnel hours and money from actually keeping our community safe,” she said.

I asked Spanberger about how her immigration policy would differ from Youngkin’s and what she’d do to protect the rights of undocumented immigrants. Here’s part of what she said: pic.twitter.com/Ix3hZ2YMFm
— Michael O'Connor (@oconnor_reports) June 27, 2025

Spanberger previously caught heat from the Department of Homeland Security after condemning immigration raids and calling the arrest of two violent criminal illegal aliens “shocking.” While in Congress Spanberger voted to support federal bailouts for Sanctuary Cities (HR 5717) and has spoken in favor of amnesty policies and against state enforcement of immigration laws. (RELATED: Illegal Immigrant Accused of Incest With Teenager Arrested by ICE After Release from Virginia Jail)

Spanberger’s opponent, Republican Winsome Earle-Sears has pledged to continue Governor Glenn Youngkin’s policy of deputizing state and local police to collaborate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.

But federal officials claim to rely on coordination with state an local law enforcement in border protection. A Virginia Homeland Security Task Force immigration raid in April took netted 500 arrests including 132 gang members and was praised by the Department of Justice.

“This is the product of unprecedented collaboration between state and federal law enforcement entities working to protect Virginia’s communities,” said United States Attorney General Pam Bondi. “Governor Youngkin and Attorney General Miyares have been incredible partners with the Department of Justice, and we will collaborate with every state in effectuating President Trump’s Make America Safe agenda.” (RELATED: Virginia Democrats Sport Fundraising Advantage In Governor’s Race)

States have historically played a significant role in immigration enforcement including requiring businesses to use E-Verify and sharing criminal data with federal enforcement agencies. Illegal immigration costs Virginia $1.8 billion per year and has a national price tag of $54.5 billion per year.