On June 11, 2026, the Trump administration sued the Commonwealth of Virginia, alleging its laws prohibiting federal officers from wearing masks, requiring officers to display individual identifiers, and ending immigration enforcement cooperation agreements between state law enforcement agencies and ICE are unconstitutional.  

Virginia saw a significant increase in immigration-related detentions from January 2025 to March 2026. The governor’s office says data shows 70% of the people booked in detention centers in Virginia have not been convicted of a crime, even though the Trump administration claimed they were focusing on arresting criminals.  

The DOJ’s lawsuit says Virginia is attempting to regulate the federal government and claims the laws threaten the safety of federal officers.  When signing the bills, Governor Spanberger said she is “taking a fulsome approach to protect all Virginia residents from threats to their safety, security, and legal rights posed by increased and aggressive federal immigration enforcement actions.” The bills reaffirm Virginia’s commitment to transparency and accountability in law enforcement.    

The Justice Department is asking a federal court to block the Virginia laws, which are set to take effect July 1. On June 30, 2026, a federal judge blocked the mask ban from going into effect, stating that the statute “directly regulates the conduct of federal law enforcement in the enforcement of the federal immigration laws thereby violating the intergovernmental immunity doctrine.”