Virginia Democrats are testing how far a state can go to push back on federal immigration enforcement.

Why it matters: States can try to limit ICE’s reach through legislation, but federal law ultimately controls how, and whether, ICE can be constrained.

The big picture: Immigration has become a flashpoint in this year’s legislative session, especially after federal agents fatally shot two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis last month.

• The killings have intensified scrutiny of ICE tactics and prompted several Democrat-led states — like Colorado, Oregon and Illinois — to also attempt to limit ICE’s actions.

Friction point: State lawmakers can’t tell ICE how to enforce federal immigration law.

• But Democrats are saying that they can decide how state and local governments cooperate with federal agents — and whether ICE is welcome in state-run spaces.

Zoom in: These are five ways Virginia lawmakers are trying to rein in ICE through a package of bills advancing in the General Assembly.

1. No courthouse arrests

• Several bills aim to ban civil immigration arrests in and around courthouses unless federal agents have a judge-signed warrant.

• This follows a courthouse crackdown last summer in Chesterfield, after a policy shift allowed ICE to detain people after court appearances for the first time in years.

2. No local police cooperation

• Local officers would be banned from assisting with federal immigration enforcement unless required by law or presented with a judicial warrant.

• Nearly 30 local sheriff’s offices in Virginia still have a cooperation agreement with ICE, according to federal data updated Tuesday afternoon.

• This bill would require those agreements to be terminated by Sept. 1.

3. Creating “protected areas”

• Immigration agents would be barred from the nonpublic areas of hospitals, schools, prosecutors’ offices and other state-run facilities.

• If an employee of one of these “protected areas” allowed ICE agents through to these spaces, they could face a Class 1 misdemeanor.

• Of note: Before a policy shift in January 2025, ICE’s internal guidance included avoiding schools and hospitals.

4. No polling places

• There’s a push to ban federal immigration agents from conducting enforcement near voting sites.

• Republicans argue this bill is unnecessary because only U.S. citizens can vote.

• Democrats counter that ICE’s presence could still intimidate lawful voters.

5. No face masks

• Under this proposal, it would be illegal in most cases for any law enforcement officer to use a face mask while on duty. The bill would also require officers to be clearly identifiable.

• The intrigue: California enacted a ban on federal agents wearing masks and was then sued by the Trump administration.

• A judge on Monday struck down the law, calling it discriminatory because it applied only to federal agents, reports the New York Times.

What we’re watching: A bill to create a Virginia Accountability Commission to document the actions of federal agents in the state and assess their effect on communities was tabled until next year.