SB 783: Law-enforcement agencies; agreements with federal authority for immigration enforcement. - Virginia

Finance and Appropriations Substitute → Public Safety Substitute · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was revised from a Senate Finance version to a House Public Safety version, primarily removing a specific definition for civil detention agreements and adding an exemption for law enforcement acting under a specific state statute. The House version also removed the requirement for federal agents to provide names and ranks seven days in advance, while retaining other restrictions on where agents can operate and how they must be identified.

Scope change

The bill's scope was narrowed by removing the definition of agreements that authorize civil detention in correctional facilities, limiting the bill's focus to standard immigration enforcement agreements.

DEFINITION

Removed the definition of 'Federal immigration enforcement agreement' that included agreements authorizing civil detention in local or state correctional facilities.

REQUIREMENT

Added an exception allowing law enforcement to assist in immigration enforcement if required by § 19.2-81.6, which was not present in the previous version.

Deleted the requirement that federal agents must provide their names and ranks to the local agency at least seven days before conducting immigration enforcement activities.

Removed the requirement that federal agents must consent to state court jurisdiction for civil or criminal proceedings arising from their actions.

TIMELINE

Removed the specific deadline requiring existing agreements to be modified by September 1, 2026, and the clause deeming unmodified agreements void.

Courts of Justice Substitute → Finance and Appropriations Substitute · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was transferred from the Courts of Justice committee to the Finance and Appropriations committee, triggering a major rewrite of the immigration enforcement provisions. The new version expands the definition of agreements to include civil detention deals with the Department of Homeland Security and significantly broadens the ban on state assistance, prohibiting it for any federal civil immigration operation unless a warrant is present. While some specific requirements like the seven-day notice and jurisdiction consent remain, the new text removes the explicit ban on ICE agents wearing police uniforms and adds a date stamp indicating the committee change.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to cover not just agreements with ICE, but also intergovernmental service agreements with the Department of Homeland Security that authorize civil detention in state facilities.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'Federal immigration enforcement agreement' was expanded to include agreements with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that authorize civil detention in local or state correctional facilities, in addition to existing agreements with ICE.

REQUIREMENT

The core prohibition was rewritten to ban all state employees from assisting in any federal civil immigration enforcement operation unless a judicial warrant is presented, replacing the previous list of specific prohibited activities.

The specific requirement banning ICE agents from wearing police uniforms or displaying the word 'police' on vehicles was removed from the list of mandatory provisions.

TECHNICAL

The document header was updated to reflect the new 'Finance and Appropriations' committee and a new bill number (26107511D) instead of the original Senate Substitute number.

Enrolled → Courts of Justice Substitute · 11 edits

MAJOR

The bill was converted from an enrolled act into a substitute version offered for reconsideration by the Senate Courts of Justice Committee. The most significant change is the removal of the definition for 'law-enforcement agency,' which previously included correctional facilities and the Department of Juvenile Justice. Additionally, the list of prohibited locations for immigration enforcement was narrowed by removing 'faith-based organization' and replacing it with 'church.' The bill also removed a specific exemption allowing the transfer of violent felons based on federal detainers.

Scope change

The scope of the bill was narrowed by removing specific law-enforcement agencies (correctional facilities and juvenile justice) from the definition of covered entities and by removing a specific exemption for transferring violent felons.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'law-enforcement agency' was shortened, removing references to local or regional correctional facilities, the Department of Corrections, and the Department of Juvenile Justice.

EXEMPTIONS

The exemption allowing the transfer of custody for adult convicted violent felons upon receipt of a federal immigration detainer was deleted.

REQUIREMENT

The list of prohibited locations for immigration enforcement was changed by removing 'faith-based organization' and replacing it with 'church.'

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

The requirement for federal agents to provide names and ranks of agents seven days in advance was removed from the list of mandatory provisions.

The provision prohibiting federal agents from making general requests for information unrelated to specific investigations was removed.

The provision prohibiting the use of surveillance technology (including drones and facial recognition) for immigration enforcement was removed.

The provision prohibiting federal agents from entering homes without a judicial warrant was removed.

The provision requiring federal agents to adhere to Chapter 7.1 of Title 19.2 during arrests or detentions was removed.

The provision requiring that shootings involving federal agents be investigated by the Virginia State Police was removed.

Subsection B was reorganized to consolidate the remaining required provisions, removing several specific mandates present in the original enrolled version.

Engrossed → Enrolled · 5 edits · Mar 31, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was finalized as an Enrolled version, changing the title to include 'federal agency' instead of just ICE and adding specific exceptions for officers investigating state crimes. The definition of 'law-enforcement agency' was expanded to include correctional facilities and the Department of Corrections. The most significant change is a new exception allowing officers to assist in state crime investigations even without a warrant, and the removal of a clause requiring written confirmation of modified agreements by September 2026.

Scope change

The bill's scope was broadened to cover all federal agencies rather than just ICE, and the definition of covered agencies now includes correctional facilities.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'Federal immigration enforcement agreement' was broadened from specifically naming ICE to covering any 'federal agency'.

The definition of 'Law-enforcement agency' was expanded to include local or regional correctional facilities, the Department of Corrections, and the Department of Juvenile Justice.

REQUIREMENT

A new exception was added to the general ban on assisting federal immigration operations, permitting officers to investigate state or federal crimes, including those in joint task forces, without needing a judicial warrant.

TIMELINE

The requirement for existing agreements to be modified in writing by September 1, 2026, was removed.

ENFORCEMENT

The final provision regarding the investigation of shootings by agents was truncated in the Enrolled version.

Introduced → Engrossed · 5 edits · Mar 30, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was amended to replace the previous text with a more restrictive version that broadly prohibits state and local law enforcement from assisting in federal immigration operations unless a judge issues a warrant. The new version adds specific requirements for federal agents to identify themselves before acting and mandates that all such agreements must comply with these strict limitations, whereas the original version allowed for reimbursement of detention costs and had fewer restrictions on when assistance could be provided.

Scope change

The bill's scope shifted from allowing limited agreements with specific protections and cost reimbursements to a near-total ban on immigration enforcement assistance without a judicial warrant, significantly narrowing the circumstances under which local police can interact with federal immigration operations.

REQUIREMENT

Removed provisions allowing localities to be reimbursed for the costs of detaining individuals for immigration purposes.

Removed the specific list of prohibited activities (like asking about citizenship during traffic stops) and replaced them with a blanket prohibition on assisting federal immigration enforcement without a judicial warrant.

Added a new requirement that federal agents must provide their names and ranks to local agencies at least seven days before conducting any immigration enforcement activity.

DEFINITION

Changed the definition of the agreement to specifically reference federal statutes and intergovernmental service agreements rather than the broader term used in the original bill.

ENFORCEMENT

Added a requirement that all agreements must comply with the new strict limitations, including the warrant requirement and prior notification rule.

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

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