Keep VA immigrants safe.

Yesterday, California Governor Newsom signed a package of bills into law, all aiming to keep California’s immigrant residents safe. These include: * Assembly Bill 49 prohibiting schools from allowing immigration enforcement officers on campus without a warrant. * Senate Bill 627 widely prohibiting federal and local law enforcement officers from wearing face masks while conducting their duties.  * Senate Bill 805 requiring law enforcement officers to identify themselves while conducting their duties, with some exceptions.  * Senate Bill 81 prohibiting immigration enforcement from entering restricted areas of a health facility without a judicial warrant or court order.  * Senate Bill 98 requiring schools and higher education institutions to send community notifications when immigration enforcement is on campus, and prohibiting immigration enforcement from entering certain areas without a judicial warrant or court order. When officers operate in secrecy, our constitutional protections (due process, Fourth Amendment rights, and the ability to hold government accountable) vanish. This is exactly the kind of “secret police” behavior that has no place in a democracy. Virginia, like California, has the chance to do better. We deserve transparency, accountability, and laws that make sure law enforcement serves the public. Requiring officers to show their faces is not radical; it’s common sense. When the General Assembly convenes in January to consider new legislation, I urge you to introduce or support legislation like California’s. California’s Democrats started drafting this legislation almost as soon at Trump took office, so I encourage you to start drafting something similar now, as well, if you and your colleagues haven’t already.