Virginia Democrat AG Went After a Sheriff Who Refused to Stop Helping ICE Arrest Illegals

Virginia Democrats passed a law ordering sheriffs to stop helping ICE deport illegal aliens.

Greene County Sheriff Steve Smith looked at that law and kept right on working with ICE anyway.

Now the Virginia Attorney General is coming after him – and what Smith did on National Night Out is the detail Democrats wish you'd never find out.

The Law Democrats Wrote to Protect Illegal Aliens

Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger signed HB 1441 into law in April 2026.

The law forces local law enforcement agencies to gut their 287(g) agreements with ICE – the agreements that let trained local officers act as immigration enforcement agents.

Agencies that refuse to rewrite those agreements by September 30 are legally finished cooperating with ICE.

That's the law Democrat legislators like Delegate Alfonso Lopez wrote to stop sheriffs exactly like Steve Smith from doing their jobs.

Sheriff Smith's response was simple.

He kept working with ICE.

He told the Piedmont Journal Recorder in July that Delegate Karen Hamilton confirmed Virginia law still allows local officers to assist with state and federal crimes and joint task forces – and he intended to use every inch of that.

On August 4, National Night Out, Smith's office ran operations with ICE in Greene County.

"I'm surprised we didn't have any protesters," he said.

Virginia AG Drops the Investigation Hammer

Attorney General Jay Jones didn't find it funny.

On August 5, Jones' Office of Civil Rights sent Sheriff Smith a two-page inquiry into alleged traffic stops of Hispanic motorists in Greene County.

Smith has until September 4 to respond with full documentation.

The timing is not a coincidence.

Trump's DOJ had already sued Virginia over HB 1441 in June, arguing the law is unconstitutional – and now the state AG is opening a second front, going directly after the sheriffs who refuse to stand down.

From New York to Virginia Democrat AGs Are Hunting Sheriffs Who Help ICE

Sheriff Smith is not alone.

Across the country, Democrat governors and attorneys general are threatening local law enforcement agencies who choose federal law over state sanctuary mandates.

In New York, Governor Kathy Hochul gave seven county sheriffs until August 25 to terminate their ICE agreements or face legal action.

Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin called it exactly what it is – a desperate move driven by the Governor and AG catering to their progressive bosses, with zero explanation for how any of it makes communities safer.

The 287(g) program exploded from 135 agreements in January 2025 to over 1,700 by April 2026.

Sheriffs across 40 states signed up to help ICE protect their communities because their voters demanded it.

Democrat-run states responded by making it a crime.

This is the playbook: pass a law shielding illegal aliens, then use the AG's office to hunt down any sheriff who won't go along.

The DOJ Already Told Them This Is Unconstitutional

The Trump DOJ's lawsuit against Virginia argues that a state cannot legally kill federal immigration enforcement agreements – and the same fight is already underway in Maryland, where federal prosecutors accused state officials of deliberately obstructing ICE in ways that put public safety at risk.

Sheriff Smith is holding the line those federal cases are fighting to defend.

Virginia Democrats are using their AG to punish him for it before a single court has ruled.

That's not law enforcement. That's political intimidation.

The voters of Greene County elected Steve Smith to keep them safe.

He's doing exactly that – and the socialist Democrats running Richmond want to put him out of business for it.

Sources:

• Chuck Jackson, "Greene Sheriff in hot water with Virginia AG's office," The Piedmont Journal Recorder, August 15, 2026.
• "DOJ Sues Virginia To Stop The Next California," WLT Report, June 21, 2026.
• "Trump's DOJ Sues Maryland Over Sanctuary State Policy Protecting Illegals," Breitbart, July 10, 2026.
• "Hochul gives sheriffs ultimatum on ICE agreements," The Center Square, August 2026.
• "7 agencies keep agreements with ICE, despite state actions against it," Spectrum News, August 18, 2026.