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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…
