HB 1441 Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

Law-enforcement agencies; agreements with federal authority for immigration enforcement.

Summary

Law-enforcement agencies; agreements with federal authority for immigration enforcement; requirements. Prohibits any state or local law-enforcement agency, defined in the bill, from maintaining, renewing, or entering into any federal immigration agreement unless such agreement contains certain provisions. The bill also prohibits any person acting in his capacity as a law-enforcement officer to assist, cooperate with, or use any law-enforcement resources to facilitate any operation that seeks to identify, arrest, or otherwise impose a penalty upon an individual for any violation of federal civil immigration law. The bill provides that such prohibition shall not apply (i) if the authority to enforce such laws is otherwise permitted or required by law; (ii) if the person acting in his capacity as a law-enforcement officer is presented with a valid judicial warrant or judicial subpoena that authorizes such enforcement; or (iii) to the transfer of custody of an adult convicted of certain violent felonies from a state, local, or regional correctional facility upon such correctional facility's receipt of a federal immigration detainer. This bill incorporates HB 1438 and is identical to SB 783.

Issues: ✓ Immigration

Bill status vetoed 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

House of Delegates Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

Vetoed

Apr 2026

Introduced Jan 22, 2026 Vetoed Apr 11, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons

What changed between versions

Subcommittee #3 Subcommittee Substitute → Courts of Justice Substitute · 6 edits

MODERATE

The bill was transferred from the House to the Senate, expanding the definition of federal immigration agreements to include civil detention deals. It significantly strengthened restrictions on law enforcement by adding new prohibitions on surveillance technology, home entries without warrants, and activities near polling places, while also mandating stricter reporting and investigation protocols for any immigration enforcement actions.

Scope change

The scope of prohibited activities was expanded to include specific bans on using surveillance tools (like facial recognition and drones) for immigration enforcement and conducting operations near election polling places.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'Federal immigration enforcement agreement' was expanded to include intergovernmental service agreements that authorize the civil detention of individuals in state or local correctional facilities.

REQUIREMENT

New requirements were added prohibiting federal agents from using surveillance technology (e.g., facial recognition, license plate readers, drones) for immigration enforcement and banning home entries without a valid judicial warrant.

A new provision prohibits immigration enforcement activities within 500 yards of polling places during election hours to protect voting access.

The list of required provisions in immigration agreements was expanded to include mandates for federal agents to adhere to specific state laws regarding arrest and detention procedures.

ENFORCEMENT

The bill now requires that any shooting involving a federal agent during immigration duties be investigated by the Virginia State Police and prosecuted by state authorities.

ELIGIBILITY

A previous clause allowing the Department of Corrections to transfer custody of violent felons based on ICE detainers was removed.

Enrolled → Public Safety Substitute · 7 edits

MODERATE

The bill was converted from an 'Enrolled' version into a 'Public Safety Substitute' amendment, which significantly narrows the scope of immigration enforcement restrictions. The new version removes the ban on assisting with civil immigration detainers for individuals convicted of violent felonies and deletes several specific protections, including bans on using surveillance technology like facial recognition and drones, restrictions on federal agents operating near polling places, and requirements for federal agents to wear non-police uniforms.

Scope change

The bill's scope was reduced by removing specific prohibitions on law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities, particularly regarding violent felons and surveillance tools.

ELIGIBILITY

The exemption allowing law enforcement to transfer custody of violent felons based on immigration detainers was removed, meaning the general ban on assisting federal immigration operations now applies to everyone, including violent felons.

REQUIREMENT

Prohibitions on using surveillance technology (facial recognition, drones, license plate readers) for immigration enforcement were deleted.

The restriction preventing federal immigration agents from conducting operations within 500 yards of polling places was removed.

The requirement that federal agents must not wear uniforms or display the word 'police' while conducting immigration enforcement was removed.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'Federal immigration enforcement agreement' was simplified to remove the specific clause regarding civil immigration detention in correctional facilities.

The definition of 'Law-enforcement agency' was narrowed by removing the Department of Corrections, Department of Juvenile Justice, and local/regional correctional facilities from the list of included agencies.

The definition of 'Federal immigration enforcement agreement' was updated to explicitly reference 8 U.S.C. 1357(g) and remove the reference to intergovernmental service agreements.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 27, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 12, 2026

How they voted

36–0

Passed · 3 other

Total votes 39

Feb 27, 2026

D Democratic20

18 Yea 2

90% Yea

R Republican19

18 Yea 1

94% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Apr 11, 2026

Vetoed

Governor's recommendation received by House

executive

Mar 31, 2026

Lower · Passed

Signed by Speaker

lower

Mar 30, 2026

Upper · Passed

Signed by President

upper

Mar 30, 2026

Lower · Passed

Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1441ER)

lower

Mar 14, 2026

Upper · Passed

Conference report agreed to by Senate (21-Y 18-N 0-A)

upper

Mar 14, 2026

Lower · Passed

Conference report agreed to by House (62-Y 34-N 0-A)

lower

Mar 14, 2026

Legislature · Passed

Conference Report released

legislature

Mar 6, 2026

Committee

Senate requested conference committee

upper

Mar 6, 2026

Introduced

Senate insisted on amendments (40-Y 0-N 0-A)

upper

Mar 2, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed Senate with substitute (21-Y 19-N 0-A)

upper

Feb 27, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)

upper

Feb 25, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (9-Y 6-N)

upper

Feb 13, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice

upper

Feb 12, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed House (63-Y 35-N 0-A)

lower

Feb 12, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read third time and passed House (61-Y 35-N 0-A)

lower

Feb 6, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported from Public Safety with substitute (15-Y 7-N)

lower

Feb 6, 2026

Lower · Passed

House subcommittee offered

lower

Jan 28, 2026

Committee

Assigned HMPPS sub: Subcommittee #3

lower

Jan 22, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee on Public Safety

lower

Jan 22, 2026

Introduced

Presented and ordered printed 26105657D

lower

1 primary · 47 co-sponsors