Virginia Democratic Attorney General Jay Jones has opened a civil-rights investigation into traffic stops conducted by a county sheriff’s office whose deputies worked with federal immigration officers during an operation that resulted in 49 detentions. An August 5th letter says Greene County Sheriff Steven Smith is under scrutiny over his office’s traffic stops. The inquiry followed a June 23rd operation in which sheriff’s deputies and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers conducted coordinated vehicle stops in Ruckersville. Jones has not filed criminal charges, though the investigation could produce a civil enforcement action.
The dispute comes as Virginia Democrats move to restrict local participation in federal immigration enforcement. Smith previously confirmed that his department assisted ICE and said officers were “just doing their job.” Local reporting placed the number detained at 49 and described ICE personnel riding with deputies near Routes 29 and 33. The operation occurred eight days before a new Virginia law limiting local cooperation with immigration authorities took effect July 1st.
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