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List of ‘sanctuary jurisdictions’ removed from US government website following criticism
A widely anticipated list of “ sanctuary jurisdictions” no longer appears on the Department of Homeland Security’s website after receiving widespread criticism for including localities that have actively supported the Trump administration’s hard-line immigration policies. The department last week published the list of the jurisdictions. It said each one would receive formal notification the government deemed them uncooperative with federal immigration enforcement and whether they’re believed to be in violation of any federal criminal statutes.
Richmond and surrounding counties included on federal list of ‘sanctuary’ jurisdictions
The city of Richmond, as well as Henrico, Chesterfield and — curiously — Hanover counties are included on a list of local jurisdictions that President Donald Trump’s administration says are “deliberately and shamefully” refusing to enforce federal immigration laws. The list, in line with an executive order issued by Trump this April, was posted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Thursday night. Jurisdictions were identified based on “compliance with federal law enforcement, information restrictions, and legal protections for illegal aliens.”
Rappahannock cited as ‘Sanctuary Jurisdiction’ by DHS
Rappahannock County found itself last week on a Department of Homeland Security list of 500 sanctuary jurisdictions in the United States that are “deliberately obstructing the enforcement of federal immigration laws and endangering American citizens”. Reached Sunday, Rappahannock County Sheriff Connie S. Compton said the county should not be on the list, adding she believed the county had been removed. “When we arrest illegal aliens, we take them to RSW [Rappahannock-Shenandoah-Warren Regional Jail in Front Royal], the sheriff wrote in a text message. “The jail notifies ICE, DHS, or the appropriate organizations.”
Virginia free health clinics strategize survival after state, federal funding cuts
Amid federal and state funding cuts, freezes and delayed payments, the outlook is grim for free clinics in Virginia that have had to trim or halt some services, but there is hope, Health Brigade executive director Karen Legato said Thursday evening. “Care is resistance,” she reiterated during a speech outside of the clinic’s Thompson Street location in Richmond. Having first opened in 1970 as the Fan Free Clinic, what is now known as Health Brigade was the first free clinic established in Virginia. It is one of about 70 free clinics currently in the state that provide care to uninsured or underinsured people.
Federal cuts lend urgency to Virginians’ preparations for storm season
On the eve of the Atlantic hurricane season starting, Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued an important message to Virginians stressing the importance of personal preparations long before a storm threatens the coast. These are instructions that everyone, especially residents here in Hampton Roads, should heed. Left unsaid by the commonwealth’s top elected official is that the emergency safety net that protects Americans from severe weather and organizes recovery efforts in its aftermath has been shredded in the four months since President Donald Trump took office.
Yancey: Gilbert steps down as House Republican leader; Kilgore named to replace him
Virginia House Republicans have made an unusual out-of-cycle leadership change. House Minority Leader Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah County, and Del. Terry Kilgore, R-Scott County, has been elected to replaced him. Generally, parties elect their legislative leaders after the election, so the timing of this switch is a surprise. It also comes as Gilbert is one of several Republican under consideration to be named the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Virginia, the top federal prosecutor in the western half the state, and as both parties head into a fall election where all 100 seats in the House of Delegates will be on the ballot. Democrats currently hold a 51-49 advantage.
Yancey: If manufacturing grows, those new jobs probably won’t be where the old ones were. What that means for Va.
Detroit is a real place but also a mythical one. It’s a city that lives in the American imagination as a symbol of the nation’s manufacturing prowess. The name “Detroit” serves as a kind of cultural shorthand — so when President Donald Trump, speaking recently about American automakers making cars in Canada, said, “I’d rather make them in Detroit,” he might have been speaking literally or he might have been speaking metaphorically. For his purposes, he might be just as happy to see those cars built in the actual Detroit, or somewhere else in the United States — both would satisfy his goal of reshoring American manufacturing jobs. Or would it?
Chesley: Virginia sheriff’s stance on illegal immigration colors landscape on searches of Latino motorists
Traffic stops and searches of Latino motorists in Loudoun County have increased dramatically the first three months of this year compared to the same period in 2024, sparking complaints from activists and some residents. The Sheriff’s Office asserts that deputies are simply patrolling more vigorously where serious crimes, historically, have occurred in the county. “We are not stopping vehicles nor doing searches on the basis of ethnicity,” Tom Julia, spokesman for the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, said flatly, rejecting allegations of racial profiling. “We completely disagree that it’s targeting of any group.” Julia made convincing arguments.
White: U.S. security at sea depends on NOAA
A recent executive order, “Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance,” seeks to “promote national security and economic prosperity” by revamping U.S. shipbuilding capacity and rebuilding domestic maritime industries. It’s worthwhile indeed to have modern vessels and efficient maritime supply chains. But I cannot reconcile this push for robust ocean commerce with the Trump administration’s gutting of our ocean expertise. The U.S. has long had an exceptional understanding of the world ocean — operating on, under and above it with impunity. What is happening at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is devastating.
Feds list localities in Southwest, Southside as ‘sanctuary jurisdictions.’ These Trump-voting places are baffled.
Nearly one dozen Southwest and Southside localities were included on a list published Thursday by the Department of Homeland Security deemed to be “sanctuary jurisdictions.” Many of those localities are considered Republican strongholds that voted for President Donald Trump in the 2024 election. That list included Amherst, Augusta, Brunswick, Charlotte, Halifax and Tazewell counties, along with the cities of Lynchburg and Martinsville — which was erroneously listed twice, as a county and a city — and the towns of Abingdon, Duffield and Tazewell. Abingdon, Tazewell and Duffield — a town with a population of 73 people — were also erroneously identified as “cities.” About 33 localities from across Virginia were included in that list. Update: As of Sunday morning, the list had been removed from the DHS site.