SB 615 West Virginia Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Requiring persons with illegal immigration status be turned over to ICE

SB 615 (West Virginia Senate Bill 615) requires all state and local law enforcement agencies in West Virginia to notify U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) when they determine an individual is in the U.S. without legal authorization. The bill directly affects undocumented immigrants in West Virginia and mandates that law enforcement cooperate with federal immigration authorities under federal law. Key provisions include prohibiting any state or local policies that would block this notification, and requiring agencies to follow federal immigration enforcement procedures. This bill changes how West Virginia law enforcement handles immigration status determinations, making notification to ICE mandatory rather than optional.

Issues: ✗ Immigration

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Feb 2026

Senate Passage

Feb 2026

House of Delegates Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 27, 2026 Last action Feb 10, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Version → Committee Substitute · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended from its original introduced version to a committee substitute version, significantly changing its scope and approach. The original version focused on punishing illegal immigrants with criminal penalties and mandatory deportation, while the committee substitute shifts focus to requiring law enforcement to notify federal authorities about individuals with illegal immigration status. The bill's legal framework was also reorganized from Article 17 to Article 16, and additional sponsors were added to the legislation.

Scope change

The bill's scope shifted from imposing criminal penalties on illegal immigrants to requiring law enforcement notification of federal authorities. The bill was also reorganized from a new Article 17 to a new section within Article 15-16.

REQUIREMENT

Changed from requiring immediate deportation of illegal immigrants to requiring law enforcement agencies to notify and cooperate with ICE when individuals are determined to be in the United States illegally.

ENFORCEMENT

Removed criminal penalties for repeat offenses and incarceration requirements, replacing them with a notification requirement that law enforcement must follow federal and state law.

TECHNICAL

Reorganized the bill from Article 17 (illegal immigration) to Article 16 (Federal Immigration Enforcement) and changed the section designation from §61-17-1 to §15-16-2a.

ELIGIBILITY

Added additional sponsors to the bill including Senators Taylor, Roberts, Willis, Bartlett, and Tarr, and changed the bill status from 'Introduced' to 'Committee Substitute' with a report date of February 3, 2026.

DEFINITION

Added specific reference to Section 287 of the federal Immigration and Nationality Act as part of the determination criteria for illegal immigration status.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 9, 2026

How they voted

31–2

Passed

Total votes 33

Feb 9, 2026

D Democratic2

2 Nay

100% Nay

R Republican31

31 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 10, 2026

Committee

To House Judiciary

lower

Feb 10, 2026

Committee

To Judiciary

lower

Feb 10, 2026

Introduced

Introduced in House

lower

Feb 9, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed Senate (Roll No. 56)

upper

Feb 3, 2026

Upper · Passed

Committee substitute reported

upper

Jan 27, 2026

Committee

To Judiciary

upper

Jan 27, 2026

Introduced

Introduced in Senate

upper

Jan 26, 2026

Committee

To Judiciary

upper

1 primary · 15 co-sponsors