Legal expert unleashes on Spanberger’s new executive order targeting ICE: ‘Political theater’

Legal expert unleashes on Spanberger's new executive order targeting ICE: 'Political theater'

Spanberger cited concerns that the Trump administration could use enforcement actions to intimidate voters at polling sites

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Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger is directing state employees to demand proof of legal authority from federal immigration agents operating on state property, prompting pushback from a legal expert.

Specifically, in an executive order signed on Tuesday, Spanberger is asking state employees to get federal agents to produce a valid warrant on "property of the Commonwealth" and instructs them to "not permit" federal agents from using those areas as staging or processing locations.

The order would include polling sites.

Spanberger’s move continues Democratic efforts to test the boundaries between state and federal power, exploring what roadblocks they can legally create to taper Trump’s immigration crackdown methods.

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Gov. Abigail Spanberger speaks during a ceremonial bill signing event at Highland Springs High School in Richmond, Virginia, Monday, May 18, 2026. (Mike Kropf/Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Hans von Spakovsky, a constitutional scholar with Advancing American Freedom, believes Spanberger’s order is for show, and that she knows it’s an overreaching attempt to create requirements for agencies she has no power over.

"This is political theater," Spakovsky said. "First of all, no warrant is required under federal immigration law to detain individuals."

"And it is a completely unnecessary provision. There’s actually a provision in federal law that bans an officer of the Army or Navy or any other person in the civil service of the U.S. to be at polling places unless they’re there to cast a vote," Spakovsky added.

He pointed to restrictions under 18 U.S.C. 592.

Spanberger first announced her executive order on Monday when she was asked about concerns over how Trump might use federal agents in upcoming elections.

"How concerned are you that he will send either the military or the National Guard or even ICE to polling places, and what can you do, if anything, to stop him?" Spanberger was asked at an event hosted by MS Now.

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Virginia Gov. Abigail Davis Spanberger laughs during a ceremony in a court in Richmond, Virginia. (Mike Kropf-Pool/Getty Images)

"The reality is, throughout history, we have seen efforts at intimidating voters. My worry is we will continue to see those heightened," Spanberger replied.

"I’ll be issuing guidance across public spaces, including polling places, of how Virginia state employees can react to federal agents who might be appearing at a location where the worry is that they’re principally there to intimidate or scare people," Spanberger said.

Notably, Spanberger vetoed a separate bill that would have outright banned ICE from making detentions in hospitals, schools, courthouses and polling places without a judicial warrant or subpoena, stating that such a ban would likely invite a legal challenge.

"I veto House Bill 650, which would create unavoidable legal liability for security personnel and local law enforcement officers when assessing federal immigration enforcement activities in certain protected areas," Spanberger wrote.

Spanberger’s new executive order follows on the heels of states like New York and California that have pushed more direct state-level attempts to restrict federal immigration activity.

In New York, Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul is asking lawmakers to pass legislation that would ban ICE from entering schools, libraries, polling locations and homes without a judicial warrant.

Massachusetts tried something similar.

There, Gov. Maura Healey asked lawmakers in January to consider legislation that would keep ICE from entering courthouses, schools, childcare programs, hospitals and churches.

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Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey urged private airlines to end contracts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (Adam Glanzman/Bloomberg)

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Those state-level requirements lack the power to bind federal agencies or their operations.

Homeland Secretary Markwayne Mullin slammed Spanberger's executivie order on Wednesday in a statement to Fox News Digital.

"No surprise: Governor Spanberger continues to put illegal alien criminals over her own constituents," Mullin said.

Leo Briceno is a politics reporter for the congressional team at Fox News Digital. He was previously a reporter with World Magazine.

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