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February 28, 2025

RICHMOND, Va. – In response to Gov. Youngkin’s anti-immigrant executive order, “Keeping Virginians Safe from Dangerous Criminal Illegal Immigrants,” ACLU of Virginia Senior Immigrants’ Rights Attorney Sophia Gregg released the following statement:  

“For years, Virginia's governor has been pushing the same dangerous, false narrative as the Trump administration that immigrants commit crime at higher rates than people who were born here, despite the fact that no data exists to support that conclusion. It's disappointing that Gov. Youngkin is planning to throw good money after bad by wasting Virginians' tax dollars terrorizing local communities. Executive orders like this play politics with people's lives, waste taxpayer dollars, and ignore the fact that immigrants have been an indispensable part of Virginia for centuries.”