Del. Jason Ballard
Virginia General Assembly
Americans spoke with a clear voice in November. They are tired of violent criminal gangs causing havoc in communities across the country and the seeming indifference of some prosecutors and law enforcement agencies to cooperate with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) to remove members of gangs – present here illegally – to their home nations. To that end, President Donald Trump has acted, with Virginia’s support (more on that shortly), to speed the removal of some 250 members of Tren de Aragua (TdA), a Venezuelan prison gang. TdA is a gang responsible for brutal crimes, including human and drug trafficking, murders, kidnappings, and more. The president is attempting to facilitate these necessary deportations under the authority created by the Alien Enemies Act, a law last used during World War II.
Acting on a lawsuit brought by “Democracy Forward” and the American Civil Liberties Union, a federal judge issued an order calling for the removal of these violent gang members to be stopped, and that any aircraft en route to their destination abroad were to turn around and return to the United States. The White House refused, noting that it was too late for the flights to return as they were already over international waters. The gang members were flown to El Salvador, where they will be held in the nation’s terrorist confinement prison. This prison is currently home to roughly 40,000 inmates.
As this action relates to Virginia, the Commonwealth’s Attorney General, Jason Miyares, recently announced that Virginia is leading a 26-state coalition to protect Americans from TdA’s threat to public safety. This coalition of states maintains that allowing the temporary restraining order against President Trump’s action undermines public safety and national security, which places American lives at risk. Attorney General Miyares recently announced a partnership with the Virginia Homeland Security Task Force (VHSTF), which is an interagency group of local, state, and federal authorities whose sole purpose is to eliminate transnational organized crime. In just over two weeks, the task force responded by arresting more than 200 violent criminals, including six known TdA affiliates.
As mentioned in a past column, I submitted legislation in the 2025 General Assembly Legislative Session (HB 1891) that would have compelled local authorities to cooperate with ICE when an inmate – here illegally – was subject to an ICE detainer. Successful passage of this legislation would have meant an end to so-called “sanctuary localities” in Virginia, but General Assembly Democrats did not even allow a hearing on the bill. They killed it with no opportunity for public testimony, so I am happy to see that action on this public safety initiative is still advancing in spite of the indifference of state Democratic leaders.
As the Delegate representing the 42nd House District in the Virginia General Assembly, your concerns are my greatest priority. If ever I may be of assistance to you and your family, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at DelJBallard@House.Virginia.Gov. You can also follow me on Twitter @JasonBallardVA or like my Facebook page, Jason Ballard for Delegate, to keep up to date with what I am doing in Richmond and in our community on your behalf.
