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.
“I write to inform you that the Virginia Office of the Attorney General (‘OAG’) has opened an inquiry into the manner in which the Greene County Sheriff’s Office (GCSO) is conducting traffic stops,” the letter said. Jones’ office said it had reviewed allegations that the department “may be conducting traffic stops in violation of state law and the Constitution.” It requested traffic-stop and immigration-enforcement policies, ten years of related training materials, and agreements or communications involving federal agencies.
WJLA reporter Nick Minock published the letter Friday and described Jones as “going after” Smith for working with ICE. “The operation included coordinated vehicle stops resulting in around 50 arrests, according to local reports,” Minock wrote. His post included a photograph of Jones and an image of the first page of the August 5th letter.
According to a report from C-VILLE Weekly, Smith said his deputies stopped drivers for the same reasons they stop other motorists. He listed speeding, crossing the center line, swerving, running a red light, and other traffic infractions. The outlet reported that photographs showed federal personnel and people wearing sheriff’s office gear conducting stops at several locations.
Smith defended his position as an independently elected local official. “Sheriffs are elected officials. We don’t answer to the governor. We answer to the citizens of the counties we live in,” he said. Smith said he believed every deputy participating with ICE had received the required federal certification, although he could not be certain. Not every member of his office had completed the training.
Political pressure began before Jones’ office sent its letter. Following the June arrests, the ACLU of Virginia accused local officers of coordinating with ICE to “terrorize and racially profile” communities and urged the attorney general to hold local officials accountable. Smith said deputies made stops after observing traffic violations. Jones’ letter says the inquiry concerns possible unlawful patterns or practices in those stops.
"*" indicates required fields
Virginia law allows the attorney general’s Office of Civil Rights to investigate alleged patterns of law-enforcement conduct that may deprive people of protected rights. Under Section 2.2-511.1, the attorney general may seek conciliation or file a civil action. The present inquiry is therefore civil, not a criminal prosecution, and no court has ruled that Smith or his deputies acted unlawfully. Jones’ office has requested records but has not filed a lawsuit.
Smith has said his department will continue enforcing the law despite the state-level dispute. “We were sworn to uphold the law and to protect our citizens,” he told C-VILLE Weekly while defending the ICE operation. “And that’s what I will continue to do. Put that in your story.”