During the second Trump administration, the number of immigration arrests has increased dramatically nationwide, but nowhere has the increase been as severe as Virginia.
The state has had one of the sharpest rises in the nation in the number of arrests made by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, with a spike of over 350 percent since 2024. This surpasses the rise in ICE arrests in states governed by Republicans, such as Florida and Texas, and Democratic states, such as California and New York. In the first five months of 2025, ICE made around 3,000 arrests in Virginia, which is comparable to the number made in a much larger state like New York.
Why Virginia, a politically moderate state, has drawn so much attention from immigration enforcement is not totally clear.
Over a million immigrants, the majority of whom are citizens or legal residents, now call Virginia home as the state’s immigrant population has grown significantly in recent decades. However, foreign-born people make up a lesser fraction of the population than in certain other states where arrests haven’t increased as significantly, such as neighboring Maryland.
The unequivocal support of Virginia’s politicians and sheriff departments around the state may be one distinction.
As his term draws to a close, Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin has been vocal in his support of President Trump’s immigration crackdown. Mr. Youngkin has consistently emphasized the dangers posed by dangerous illegal immigrants and has supported the efforts of a federal-state task force that aims to battle transnational organized crime. He has threatened to stop paying local governments that do not fully comply with ICE and instructed his state’s law enforcement agencies to work with federal immigration authorities.
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