Virginia Dems Turn Down Money to Combat Gun Crime to Stick It to ICE

Virginia turned down hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal money used to combat gun crime in 2018, rather than comply with federal immigration authorities, according to documents obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

A series of Department of Justice memos show that two anti-gun-crime grants were transferred from the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS), which had previously administered the program, in Dec. 2018. The memos say the transfer was necessary after state officials refused to certify that Virginia would comply with federal requirements to share immigration information with federal law enforcement.

"DCJS will not be able to comply with the requirements and the agency has formally declined the awards," a DOJ official said in one memo. "The grants were awarded to the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) to serve as the fiscal agent for the 2018 Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN) awards for the Eastern and Western Districts of the state of Virginia."

Democratic governor Ralph Northam, a supporter of gun control reforms, and his administration lost out on $665,673 in grant funding that is specifically aimed at reducing gun crimes. The grants are now administered through the non-profit Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police. A Northam spokeswoman declined to comment on the transfer but said the governor supports the program and how the non-profit has handled it.