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HB1438 • 2026

State agencies, etc.; agreements with federal authority for immigration enforcement, prohibitions.

<p class=ldtitle>A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Chapter 17 of Title 15.2 an article numbered 2.1, consisting of sections numbered 15.2-1730.2 through 15.2-1730.5, relating to agencies of the Commonwealth; law-enforcement agencies; employees and officers; agreements with federal authority for immigration enforcement; prohibitions and limitations.</p>

Labor
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Guzman
Last action
2026-02-06
Official status
Incorporated
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary does not provide information about legal actions or penalties for violations, so those claims were removed.

Prohibiting State and Local Agencies from Assisting Federal Immigration Enforcement

This bill stops state agencies and local police departments from entering agreements that allow their workers to perform federal immigration enforcement roles.

What This Bill Does

  • Prevents state agencies and law-enforcement bodies from making deals with the federal government for employees or officers to carry out functions of a federal immigration officer.
  • Prohibits state agency employees and law-enforcement officers from asking about someone's citizenship or immigration status while performing their duties, unless required by court order or other laws.
  • Requires existing agreements between local agencies and the federal government for immigration enforcement to end by September 1, 2026.

Who It Names or Affects

  • State agencies
  • Local police departments
  • Employees of state agencies
  • Law-enforcement officers

Terms To Know

Judicial warrant
A formal order from a judge or magistrate that allows law enforcement to search, seize, or arrest someone.
Law-enforcement agency
Any state or local agency with the main job of enforcing laws in Virginia.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify what happens if an agreement is not terminated by September 1, 2026.
  • It's unclear how this will affect existing agreements and their termination process.

Bill History

  1. 2026-02-06 Subcommittee #3

    Subcommittee recommends incorporating (Voice Vote)

  2. 2026-02-06 Public Safety

    Incorporated by Public Safety (HB1441-Lopez) (Voice Vote)

  3. 2026-01-28 Subcommittee #3

    Assigned HMPPS sub: Subcommittee #3

  4. 2026-01-22 House

    Presented and ordered printed 26105618D

  5. 2026-01-22 Public Safety

    Referred to Committee on Public Safety

Official Summary Text

Agencies of the Commonwealth; law-enforcement agencies; employees and officers; agreements with federal authority for immigration enforcement; prohibitions and limitations.
Prohibits a state agency or a law-enforcement agency, defined in the bill, from entering into a written agreement authorizing any employee or law-enforcement officer to perform a function of a federal immigration officer. The bill provides that federal immigration laws shall be enforced by a state or local law-enforcement agency of the Commonwealth pursuant to a valid judicial warrant, federal or statutory regulations, or as otherwise required by state law. The bill also prohibits an employee of a state agency or a law-enforcement officer, defined in the bill, from conducting certain actions or inquiries regarding a person's citizenship or immigration status while engaged in the performance of his duties and creates a cause of action for appropriate equitable, injunctive, or declaratory relief against such employee or law-enforcement officer who willfully conducts such actions or inquiries in violation of the provisions of the bill. Finally, the bill requires any state agency or law-enforcement agency that has an existing written agreement with a federal authority to perform federal immigration functions to terminate such written agreement by September 1, 2026.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Chapter 17 of Title 15.2 an article numbered 2.1, consisting of sections numbered
15.2-1730.2
through
15.2-1730.5
, relating to agencies of the Commonwealth; law-enforcement agencies; employees and officers; agreements with federal authority for immigration enforcement; prohibitions and limitations.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding in Chapter 17 of Title 15.2 an article numbered 2.1, consisting of sections numbered
15.2-1730.2
through
15.2-1730.5
, as follows:

Article
2.1
.

Agreements with Federal Authority for

Enforcement of Immigration Laws
.

§
15.2-1730.2
. Definitions.

For
the
p
urposes of this article
, unless the context requires a different meaning
:

"Judicial
warrant" means a formal written order issued by a federal judge or magistrate authorizing a law-enforcement officer to
perform a search, seizure, or arrest. "Judicial warrant" does not include an administrative warrant or
a detainer, including an administrative warrant or detainer issued to enforce federal immigration law.

"Law-enforcement agency" means
any state or local agency that employs
law-enforcement officers and that has as its principal function the enforcement of
the laws of the Commonwealth and its localities. "Law-enforcement agency" includes
the following to
the extent that s
uch
agency performs law-enforcement functions:
any sheriff's office,
any
police department,
any
pro
bation or parole office, the Department of Corrections,
the Marine Resources Commission, the Virginia Department of Wildlife
Resources
, local and regional jail authorities, and any other agency or department in the Commonwealth created to enforce
the laws of the Commonwealth and its localities.

"Law-enforcement officer" means

(i)
a

law-enforcement officer
, school resource officer, or school security officer
as
those terms are
defined in §
9.1-101
or
(ii)

an employee of a law-enforcement agency
.

§
15.2-1730.3
.
Agencies of the Commonwealth; state or lo
cal l
aw-enforcement agencies; prohibited
actions
.

A. No
agency of the Commonwealth or
law-enforcement agency shall
:

1. Enter into, modify, renew, or extend a
n
y

agreement
that
authoriz
es
any law-enforcement officer to perform a function of a
federal
immigration officer
;

2
.
Detain or retain custody or supervision of a person incarcerated in a local, regional, or state correctional facility on the basis of such person's citizenship status or in response to a request by an immigration agent beyond the date that such person is otherwise scheduled for release
;

3. Investigate, process, or arrest any person for federal immigration purposes except as required by the laws of the Commonwealth;

4. Assist in the
enforcement of federal immigration laws irrespective of whether there is an existing agreement to do so
unless
otherwise
required by state or federal law
; and

5.
Conduct informal or formal non-mandatory communications with federal immigration authorities.

B.
Nothing
in this section shall be construed to limit a law-enforcement agency from enforcing any valid judicial warrant or to prohibit a law-enforcement agency from complying with other federal statutory or regulatory requirements regarding the disclosure of criminal history record information under 28
C.F.R.

Part 20
or any other requirement under state or federal law.

§
15.2-1730.4
. Law-enforcement officers;
employee
s
of state age
ncy;
prohibited acts
; civil penalties
.

A.
No

employee of an agency of the Commonwealth or
law-enforcement officer shall,
while engaged in the performance of his
duties:

1. Inquire about an individual's
citizenship, immigration status, or place of birth during a stop, a search, or an arrest;

2. Detain
or retain custody or supervision of a person
incarcerated in a local, regional, or state correctional facility on the basis of such person's citizenship status or in response to a request by an immigration agent beyond the date that such person is otherwise scheduled for release
;

3. Transfer a person to federal immigration authorities unless required to do so by state or federal law;

4. Coerce, intimidate, or threaten any
person
based on the actual or
perceived
citizenship or immigration status of the
person
,
the person's family or household member, the person's legal guardian, or another person for whom the person is the legal guardian
; or

5.
Assist in the enforcement of federal immigration laws irrespective of whether there is an existing agreement to do so unless otherwise required by state or federal law
.

B. Nothing in this section shall prevent a
n employee of a state agency or
law-enforcement officer from inquiring about any information if such information is material to a criminal investigation.

C. If the citizenship or immigration status of a person is relevant to a protection
afforded to such person under state or federal law or subject to a requirement imposed by an international treaty, a
n employee of a state agency or
law-enforcement officer may (i) notify
such
person of such p
rotection or requirement and (ii) provide such person with the opportunity to voluntarily disclose such person's citizenship or immigration status for the purpose of receiving such protection or complying with such
requirement.

D. In addition to any other remedy
provided by law
, a person may bring a civil action for appropriate
equitable, injunctive, or declaratory relief against another person
who willfully violates the provisions of this section.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit or prohibit any person injured as a result of an arrest
performed in violation of this section from recovering damages or other appropriate relief.

E. The Attorney General
shall

develop
, publish, and periodically update guidance on the application of this section to law-enforcement officers.

§ 15.2-
1730.5. Construction and severability.

The provisions of this article
shall be severable and if
any provision

or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid for any reason in a court of competent jurisdiction, the
invalidity does not affect other provisions or any other application of this article that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.

2. That, pursuant to the provisions of this act, a state agency or law-enforcement agency that has an existing written agreement authorizing any employee or law-enforcement officer to perform a function of a federal immigration officer or to enforce federal immigration law shall terminate such written agreement no later than September 1, 2026.