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Hopewell Sheriff's Office partners with ICE under federal immigration agreement

Hopewell Sheriff's Office partners with ICE under federal immigration agreement
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HOPEWELL, Va. β€” The Hopewell Sheriff's Office has entered into a partnership with Immigration and Customs Enforcement that allows deputies to act as federal immigration agents, making it the only jurisdiction in Central Virginia to sign such an agreement.

The 287(g) agreement commits Hopewell deputies to help serve immigration warrants and allows ICE to use the city's detention facilities. Under the partnership, local law enforcement officers can perform certain immigration enforcement functions typically handled by federal agents.

Sheriff Travis Stanley offered the following statement, saying the agreement complies with Governor Glenn Youngkin's Executive Order 47:

"The Hopewell Sheriff's Office signed the agreement, because of our commitment and to work with ALL local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to keep all citizens and visitors to our great city safe. It is also in conjunction and compliance, with Executive Order #47 (2025), signed by Gov. Youngkin on February 27, 2025. We will continue to enforce all the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the City of Hopewell, with integrity, transparency and fairness."

The Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights has launched an online petition asking Stanley to rescind the agreement. The advocacy group argues the partnership will have a chilling effect on spending by immigrants, who make up 4% of Hopewell's population.

The coalition also warns the agreement could hit Hopewell's treasury, as the city will pay the vast majority of jailing costs associated with immigration enforcement.

While several rural counties across Virginia have signed similar partnerships with the federal agency, Hopewell stands alone among Central Virginia jurisdictions in entering the agreement.

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