Greene County among 13 Virginia Sheriff’s Offices to make deals with ICE

GREENE COUNTY, Va. (WVIR) - Greene County Sheriff’s Office will now have jurisdiction to enforce immigration, with limitations.

The deal is part of ICE’s 287(g) Program and is one of 13 in the Commonwealth. Nearly every state has at least one jurisdiction with a signed agreement.

The deal comes in three forms. Greene signed a “task force model.” The ICE website said that agreement, “serves as a force multiplier for law enforcement agencies to enforce limited immigration authority with ICE oversight during their routine police duties.”

Virginia’s Senators, both Democrats, said regardless of their personal feelings about local law enforcement enforcing immigration, it is up to the jurisdictions to decide.

“I’m not in a position to question them,” Senator Tim Kaine said. “But when I had to make that decision as governor, I thought the combined weight of the expert advice of my law enforcement community was that was actually going to hurt public safety rather than helping.”

Senator Mark Warner said it is not his place to assess whether Greene County should or should not participate in immigration enforcement.

“Law enforcement officials that I talked to are concerned oftentimes, if they get too affiliated with ICE, members of the community won’t trust them,” Warner said.

29News reached out directly to Greene’s Sheriff’s Office. They did not respond to request for comment.

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