Virginia’s GOP leadership is criticizing Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger for saying that her first action if elected Governor would be to rescind an executive order directing law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration officials.
Spanberger told The Mercury during an interview in early August that Executive Order 47, signed by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin in February, was a misuse of local resources and a threat to community trust.
The former CIA officer and Congresswoman argued that the order pushes state agencies into enforcing federal laws, while also pulling law enforcement officers away from their duties.
“Our immigration system is absolutely broken,” Spanberger said. “The idea that we would take local police officers or local sheriff’s deputies in amid all the things that they have to do, like community policing or staffing our jails or investigating real crimes, so that they can go and tear families apart … that is a misuse of those resources.”
The comments, however, raised the ire of the Governor and Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, her Republican opponent.
“In her very first act as Governor, Spanberger promises to turn Virginia into a sanctuary state for dangerous illegal immigrants,” Youngkin wrote on X. “Winsome promises to keep dangerous criminals off our streets. Could the choice be any more clear, Virginia? Your safety is on the ballot this November.”
Earle-Sears slammed Spanberger’s support of protecting illegal immigrants from deportation and her voting down the Laken Riley Act, which was passed by Congress in 2024 in response to the brutal murder of Georgia college student Laken Riley by an undocumented Venezuelan immigrant. The law requires federal authorities to detain immigrants accused of theft and burglary while their cases proceed.
“Abigail Spanberger voted against the Laken Riley Act after Laken was murdered by an illegal immigrant,” Earle-Sears said on X. “Now she says her first act as Governor will be to stop State Police from helping ICE. Abigail puts criminals over Virginians. Every. Single. Time.”
While Spanberger initially held a significant lead over Earle-Sears, a new Roanoke College poll shows that lead has narrowed. According to the poll, Spanberger’s 43%-26% lead over Earle-Sears in May tightened to just 7 percentage points, to 46%-39%.
About 14% of likely voters polled remained undecided, while 1% said they would vote for a different candidate.
