Press Releases
For Immediate Release
Tuesday, March 4, 2025
Contact: press@vacir.org or (804) 376-1456
The Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights Condemns the Inhumane Actions of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem in Arlington, Virginia
Arlington, VA – In the early morning hours of Tuesday, March 4, 2025, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), alongside the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), arrived in Arlington, Virginia, alongside the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, in a heavily armored vehicle to arrest one person with a prior removal order.
The arrest took place in a densely populated Arlington apartment complex, instilling fear among neighbors and witnesses. At the forefront of the operation was Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, whose presence demonstrates the administration’s commitment to harsh immigration enforcement tactics.
Inside the targeted home were two children and their undocumented uncle, who has no criminal history. The children’s lives have been upended, with no plan in place for their custody or care. The uncle was ordered to turn himself in to immigration authorities within 48 hours.
This operation was not only an unnecessary display of force but also an exorbitant use of taxpayer dollars. Yet, that financial burden is insignificant compared to this family’s inhumane treatment. The children are now separated from their caregivers, left without legal guardianship or protection. Meanwhile, their uncle, with no criminal history, now faces the very real threat of deportation.
After witnessing such an aggressive show of force, neighbors told VACIR leaders they now feel unsafe in their own community.
The Secretary stood cold and unmoved as the family was torn apart for the sake of sensationalism and media attention. Her comments that separating children from their family was a “consequence” was particularly callous. The Trump Administration’s policies to indiscriminately arrest undocumented residents without criminal records are reckless. These actions do not make our communities safer; instead, they deteriorate trust in law enforcement and erode faith in our nation’s commitment to protecting children and families.
The Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights unequivocally condemns the Trump Administration and Secretary Noem for their cruel and dehumanizing tactics. We stand in solidarity with immigrant communities and demand an end to these inhumane enforcement practices.
###
For Immediate Release
Thursday, February 27, 2025
Contact: press@vacir.org or (804) 376-1456
The Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights Opposes Governor Youngkin’s Executive Order Forty-Seven
Alexandria, VA – Undocumented Virginians play a vital role in our Commonwealth. They pay taxes, actively contribute to our localities, and are beloved members of our communities. The overwhelming majority of undocumented residents desperately want to obtain status, but due to Congressional failure have been unable to do so.
Governor Youngkin’s Executive Order Forty-Seven continues dangerous xenophobic stereotypes of hard-working immigrants that are not founded in fact. A 2024 study by the American Immigration Council showed that immigrants are substantially less likely than U.S.-born individuals to commit crimes. “As immigration increased, the crime rate declined, according to the American Immigration Council’s analysis of demographics and crime data. Between 1980 and 2022, the immigrant share of the U.S. population more than doubled, from 6.2% to 13.9%, while the total crime rate dropped by 60.4%, from 5,900 crimes per 100,000 people to 2,335 crimes per 100,000 people. Specifically, the violent crime rate fell by 34.5% and the property crime rate fell by 63.3%.
These statistics challenge the narrative that higher immigration leads to higher crime rates, showing instead that crime rates have dropped even as the number of immigrants has grown.
Governor Youngkin’s reckless executive order diverts already strained state police and state correctional facilities resources to carry out duties that should belong squarely to the federal government. This harms community safety by needlessly targeting immigrant community members, increasing fear, and eroding trust which could lead to unreported crimes leading to the victimization of immigrants.
Undocumented Virginians make up less than 3% of the Virginia population. In a time when our Commonwealth is facing historic economic attacks on federal workers, our Governor has decided to terrorize immigrant farm workers, domestic workers, and other essential workers.
The real security threat is misrepresenting facts about immigrant communities, sowing divides, and fueling hate which is morally reprehensible. Shame on Governor Youngkin! He is failing Virginians.
The Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights (VACIR) is a multi-racial and multi-ethnic coalition of 51 organizations that exists to win dignity, power and quality of life for all immigrant and refugee communities.
###
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, October 30, 2024
Contact: Kelsey Cowger, kelsey@progressva.org
LWV: Shannon Augustus, saugustus@lwv.org
CLC: Emily Burns, eburns@campaignlegalcenter.org
LCCRUL: Lacy Crawford, lcrawford@lawyerscommittee.org
Advancement Project: Jennifer Dillon, jdillon@advancementproject.org
African Communities Together: Assefash Makonnen, assefash@africans.us
Virginia Immigrant Rights & Voting Rights Groups Outraged at SCOTUS Decision Allowing Virginia to Disenfranchise Voters
A recording of a press conference on this matter can be found here.
Washington, DC—The Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights (VACIR), the League of Women Voters of Virginia (LWVVA), and African Communities Together (ACT) are disappointed and alarmed the Supreme Court of the United States has allowed Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin to wrongfully remove qualified voters from the voting rolls less than one week before a federal election.This misguided ruling allows Virginia to disenfranchise over 1600 eligible Virginia voters based on unreliable data and discriminatory lies.
“Voting is a sacred privilege only afforded to U.S. citizens. Governor Youngkin and Attorney General Miyares’s efforts to target naturalized citizen voters yielded the disenfranchisement of both natural born citizens and naturalized citizens,” Monica Sarmiento, Executive Director of the Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights, said. “We are deeply disappointed that the vicious voting rights attacks from the Governor and Attorney General have been permitted to prevail. It is a dangerous occurrence when lawful U.S. citizens are carelessly removed from the voter rolls. Although we did not win this battle, VACIR will continue to fight for the right of eligible U.S. citizens to vote.”
“The League is incredibly disappointed in this decision,” said Caren Short, director of legal and research at the League of Women Voters of the United States. “The Supreme Court should protect voters from disenfranchisement, but instead they are allowing an illegal purge of eligible voters days before a federal election. Every voter has the fundamental right to participate in our democracy, and this ruling allows that fundamental right to be stripped away based on xenophobic lies. The League of Women Voters will never cease in our fight to protect the rights of all voters.”
“Today’s ruling is not only a disappointment but it further validates the attacks on voter rights across the country at a critical time for our country, when the voices of our communities are being drowned out by racist and xenophobic rhetoric,” Solomon Ayalew, DMV Chapter Director of African Communities Together, said. “ACT will continue to fight for the rights of voters and do everything we can to ensure naturalized citizens, who have had their right to vote challenged and have been casualties in this systematic removal, are heard.”
“The ruling today is disappointing and a loss for eligible voters, and only underscores the fact that a major political movement has invested so much in a dangerous strategy to discredit and undermine our electoral process,” Anna Dorman, Counsel at Protect Democracy, said. “We’re watching the harms incurred by that strategy play out right now in realtime in states across the U.S., as thousands of eligible voters’ right to participate in our democracy is being questioned and is in limbo.”
“To say this decision is a disappointment is an understatement. The Supreme Court just ignored a key provision of the National Voter Registration Act and the clear fact that Virginia purged eligible voters on the eve of the election,” said Ryan Snow, counsel with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “The list of purged voters includes both new citizens and people born in the U.S., all of whom have the same sacred right to vote. The decision to block the district court’s order stopping this purge is a blow to the many eligible Virginian voters who were unlawfully purged and will now face uncertainty about their ability to cast a ballot that will be counted.”
“The Supreme Court allowing Virginia to engage in a last-minute purge that includes many known eligible citizens in the final days before an election is outrageous,” said Danielle Lang, Campaign Legal Center’s Senior Director on Voting Rights. “But the voters will decide this election, not the courts, and CLC will continue to fight alongside Virginians to ensure that they are able to participate in our democracy. Eligible Virginia voters should know that regardless of this purge they can register to vote on Election Day and cast their ballots.”
The Supreme Court’s ruling today is a huge loss for Virginia voters. The court’s decision allows the last-minute illegal purging of eligible voters who are now at risk of being disenfranchised in Tuesday’s election.” said John Powers, Director of the Power and Democracy Program at Advancement Project. “Ensuring that every eligible voter can vote is a bedrock of our democracy. We will continue to fight for free, fair, and accessible elections for every voter.”
The state of Virginia allows voters to register at their polling place. Voters in Virginia who find themselves removed from the rolls should re-register at their polling place when they go to cast their ballot. Voters can learn more and check their registration at VOTE411.org.
Any voters with questions, including on how to use Virginia’s Same Day Registration process, should call or text the Election Protection Hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE, or call one of the bilingual Election Protection hotlines at 888-VE-Y-VOTA (Spanish); 844-YALLA-US (Arabic); or 888-API-VOTE (Bengali, Cantonese, Hindi, Korean, Mandarin, Punjabi, Tagalog, Urdu, Vietnamese).
Background:
VACIR, LWVVA, and ACT filed their response to Virginia’s application for a stay on October 29, 2024. Read the brief here. Learn more about the case here.
Former members of Congress also filed an amicus brief against the voter purge, saying “the daily systematic removal program recently undertaken by Applicants is precisely what the NVRA’s Quiet Period Provision forbids. It is not a close case; it is instead a paradigmatic violation of Congress’s design.”
The lawsuit called on the court to do the following:
- Declare the Purge Program violates the National Voter Registration Act of 1993
- Order Defendants to stop the Purge Program
- Order Defendants to instruct local officials to reinstate to the voter rolls anyone removed through the Purge Program, except those who confirmed they are not a citizen, and ensure they can cast a regular ballot
- Order Defendants to notify affected voters that they remain registered and can cast a regular ballot if they are eligible.
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) filed its own lawsuit on October 11, alleging Virginia’s Purge Program is systematically removing voters from the rolls within 90 days of a federal election, in violation of the National Voter Registration Act.
###
For Immediate Release
Tuesday, October 8, 2024
Contact: press@vacir.org or (804) 376-1456
VACIR & LWVVA Sue Virginia Department of Elections in
Defense of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993
Alexandria, VA – On the evening of Monday, October 7, 2024 the Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights (VACIR) in partnership with member organization the League of Women Voters of Virginia filed a lawsuit against the Virginia Board of Elections and Attorney General Jason Miyares for multiple alleged violations of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993.
The challenged policy is a result of Executive Order 35, which was signed by Governor Glenn Youngkin on August 7, 2024 and requires state and local election officials to remove individuals from the state voter registration list if Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) records do not indicate U.S. citizenship. However, as the complaint explains, Virginia drivers’ licenses are available to non-citizens and can remain valid for up to eight years, meaning people who obtained driver’s licenses as non-citizens, subsequently became U.S. citizens, and lawfully registered to vote are being unlawfully purged from the voter rolls based on outdated DMV information.
President of the League of Women Voters Virginia Joan Porte said, “The League of Women Voters of Virginia has a 104 year history of standing up for free and fair access to the polls for all Americans. We are proud to stand up for voters today against the Governor’s purging of voters based on unreliable and out of date information.” VACIR Board Chair and Virginia State Director of EMGAGE Mohamed Gula noted, “The careless purging of voters without proper fact checking or oversight is a direct assault of our American democracy. Executive Order 35 is a targeted attack on naturalized citizens, and is the latest of many unsubstantiated policy attacks based on political misinformation and not facts. Voting is a patriotic privilege that generations of naturalized citizens have fought and died for. We will defend the right of all US citizens to vote and demand all Virginia elected officials abide by the National Voter Registration Act.”
Civic Engagement Director of African Communities Together Gigi Traore stated, “A critical part of the American Dream is a right to access the ballot box. Executive Order 35 and its faulty administrative process blocks that right for Virginia’s eligible African immigrant community. As a partner organization, African Communities Together stands in support of VACIR and the LWVVA.”
The lawsuit alleges that these systematic purges of Virginia’s voter rolls within 90 days of a federal election violate the National Voter Registration Act and risk improper removal of eligible voters, particularly those who are naturalized U.S. citizens. The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Campaign Legal Center, the Protect Democracy Project, and Advancement Project are representing VACIR and the LWVVA in the lawsuit. “The right to vote is fundamental and foundational to our democracy, and states have a responsibility to ensure that eligible voters are not erroneously removed from the voter rolls. Instead, Virginia is fast-tracking removals based on faulty and outdated DMV data without doing anything to verify its accuracy,” said Ryan Snow, Counsel with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “This purge program will disenfranchise eligible New American voters, who are disproportionately voters of color, on the eve of an election.”
Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights (VACIR) is a multi-racial and multi-ethnic coalition of 49 organizations that exists to win dignity, power and quality of life for all immigrant and refugee communities.
###