Fourth Circuit amicus brief filed in Virginia’s 287(g) lawsuit
RICHMOND, VA – Today, the Legal Aid Justice Center filed an amicus brief in the Fourth Circuit, supporting the Commonwealth of Virginia in its appeal of the injunction issued on August 30, 2026 in United States vs. Commonwealth. The case was filed by the Trump administration asking a federal court to strike down newly enacted legislation (Va. Code § 15.2-1726.1) setting guidelines on when and how localities can devote state and local resources to federal immigration enforcement. In late August, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia issued a partial preliminary injunction in favor of the United States, staying the implementation of the new law with respect to existing 287(g) agreements. Virginia appealed, and the Legal Aid Justice Center has submitted a brief in support. In the brief, LAJC defends the state law and urges the court to reverse the preliminary injunction.
The brief draws upon the Legal Aid Justice Center’s many years of experience representing and advocating on behalf of immigrant Virginians and is more recently informed by an in-depth investigation into state and local law enforcement’s entanglement with federal immigration enforcement. It explains that the 287(g) program, used by federal immigration authorities to enlist states and localities to support their enforcement efforts, is purely voluntary and subject to state limits and regulations. Virginia’s new law protects important and legitimate state interests and Virginia’s own sovereignty in the area of regulating local law enforcement. It also gives the Commonwealth better ability to protect itself against lawsuits filed against local law enforcement inexperienced in enforcing immigration law. 287(g) agreements make it clear that the costs of defending and paying out on those lawsuits fall entirely on state and local taxpayers.
LAJC’s brief highlights several examples of how 287(g) agreements in Virginia have impacted Virginia families. For example, earlier in 2026, LAJC represented a client in a federal habeas action after he was arrested in Franklin County by a local officer acting under the auspices of a 287(g) agreement. This client is married to a U.S. citizen and has a pending application to adjust his immigration status. Nevertheless, instead of a ticket for an expired registration sticker, the traffic stop ended with him being shackled in front of his family, loaded into a police vehicle, and transported to a series of detention centers over the next few weeks. Luckily, with the help of LAJC, our client was ultimately released, but only after many weeks of extreme hardship.
“The 287(g) program is incompatible with the legal constraints that Virginia places on its own law enforcement, such as limits on warrantless arrests, public transparency and data protection laws, and legal protections for noncitizen victims of crimes,” said Angela Ciolfi, executive director for the Legal Aid Justice Center. “The Virginia General Assembly’s efforts to protect Virginia residents and ensure that local law enforcement is held accountable to Virginia law should be honored.”
Read and download the brief here.
