immigration | ALXnow

Spanberger signs Alexandria legislators’ bills on guns, immigration, national popular vote

Published April 14, 2026 at 12:30PM | Updated April 14, 2026 at 1:43PM

(Left to right) Virginia House Majority Leader Del. Charniele Herring (D-4th), State Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-39th) and Del. Alfonso Lopez (D-3rd) at the Alexandria Democratic Committee's Labor Day Picnic at The Garden Alexandria, 5380 Eisenhower Avenue, Sept. 1, 2025 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Numerous pieces of legislation from Alexandria lawmakers are officially set to become law or are heading back to the General Assembly with amendments after action by Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D).

Among the approximately 1,200 bills passed out of the 2026 session, legislation on guns, housing, the national popular vote, energy and immigration enforcement all came by way of state senators and delegates representing Alexandria. Most signed bills will take effect on July 1, 2026, unless otherwise specified.

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Independent candidate Alison O’Connell turning in signatures to join City Council special election

By James Cullum

Published February 27, 2026 at 3:45PM | Updated February 27, 2026 at 4:53PM

Alison O'Connell (courtesy photo)

With today’s 5 p.m. deadline fast approaching, Alison O’Connell is working to submit 125 signatures needed to file an independent candidacy to run for Alexandria City Council.

O’Connell, a founding member of Alexandria for Palestinian Human Rights, is hoping to run for City Council with platform issues that include affordable housing, ethical investment and anti-immigration enforcement measures. She and her team have been collecting signatures and turning them in throughout the day to the city’s registrar’s office, she told ALXnow this afternoon (Friday).

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ACPS board member Booz visits Minneapolis to create ICE response resources for schools

By James Cullum

Published February 20, 2026 at 12:00PM | Updated February 20, 2026 at 4:59PM

Alexandria School Board Member Kelly Carmichael Booz in Minneapolis, Minnesota (courtesy image)

Alexandria City School Board member Kelly Carmichael Booz visited Minnesota last week as part of a project to inform educators on how to respond to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity.

Booz, who is from Minneapolis, visited the Twin Cities from Feb. 9-13, in the wake of the fatal ICE shootings of U.S. citizens Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good and the widely reported drawdown of ICE agents there. Her project, a report for the American Federation of Teachers, aims to offer “resources and trainings” for school districts and unions on what to do when ICE enters their communities, she told ALXnow.

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Proposals to limit ICE activity and more Alexandria-supported bills advance in General Assembly

By Emily Leayman

Published February 11, 2026 at 2:30PM

Wendy Ginsberg, the City of Alexandria's legislative director, provided a mid-session General Assembly update to City Council (via City of Alexandria)

As the General Assembly reaches mid-session, the City of Alexandria is supporting nearly 400 proposed bills, including restrictions on immigration enforcement.

Wendy Ginsberg, the city’s legislative director, provided a mid-session General Assembly update to City Council yesterday (Tuesday). According to Ginsberg, city staff have reviewed 584 bills for potential impacts to the city. During the presentation, Councilman Abdel Elnoubi requested an update on the immigration enforcement-related bills, which Ginsberg said are continuing to make progress.

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JUST IN: Hundreds of ACHS students stage walkout against ICE

By James Cullum

Published February 6, 2026 at 4:20PM

Students participating in a walkout Feb. 6, 2026 (courtesy Rosemary Pereira-Kyle)

Around 250 to 300 students walked out of both campuses of Alexandria City High School today (Friday) to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The student-led walkout lasted from around 2:15 to 2:45 p.m., according to ACPS. The event happened less than a month after hundreds of people gathered at Four Mile Run Park Plaza to protest ICE, after an officer fatally shot Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis.

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Old Town protestors rally against Citizens Bank for dealings with ICE detention center contractor

By James Cullum

Published February 6, 2026 at 3:30PM

A protest outside Citizens Bank in Old Town, Feb. 6, 2026 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Cries of “shame” rang out this afternoon (Friday) outside Citizens Bank near the King Street-Old Town Metro Station, as dozens of protestors rebuked the bank’s ties to U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.

The group made speeches, sang songs and held signs condemning the bank for extending a $500 million line of credit to The GEO Group, a Florida-based international private prison operator that has more than $700 million in contract obligations with ICE.

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Trump signs bill to end partial shutdown as Democrats continue push for ICE reform

By The Associated Press

Published February 3, 2026 at 5:05PM

The Capitol is seen under gray skies on the thirteenth day of the government shutdown, in Washington, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

President Donald Trump signed a roughly $1.2 trillion government funding bill Tuesday that ends the partial federal shutdown that began over the weekend and sets the stage for an intense debate in Congress over Homeland Security funding.

The president moved quickly to sign the bill after the House approved it with a 217-214 vote.

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ICE actions in Minnesota prompt advocacy, donation efforts at Old Town businesses

By Katie Taranto

Published February 3, 2026 at 3:45PM

Stack of letters to legislators at Friends to Lovers Bookstore on Jan. 30, 2026 (staff photo by Katie Taranto)

Some Alexandria businesses closed and others encouraged civic involvement last week during nationwide strikes protesting immigration enforcement.

In Old Town, businesses like fibre space, Friends to Lovers Bookstore and Ms. Moxie’s Moon Shop made posts encouraging actions such as donating money or supplies and contacting lawmakers to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after agents shot and killed Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis and detained a 5-year-old child.

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NEW: Alexandria joins coalition challenging ICE deployment in Minnesota

By Katie Taranto

Published January 23, 2026 at 5:00PM | Updated January 23, 2026 at 5:50PM

People protest against Federal immigration agents on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

Alexandria is one of more than 80 local governments and leaders to join a coalition challenging the Trump administration’s recent surge of federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota.

The coalition, co-led by Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, has filed an amicus brief arguing that Trump’s deployment of more than 3,000 armed ICE agents to Minnesota — called “Operation Metro Surge” — is unconstitutional. Along with Alexandria, signatories include the governments of major cities like Chicago, Los Angeles and Seattle, alongside legal nonprofit Public Rights Project.

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Hundreds gather in Alexandria to protest ICE after fatal Minneapolis shooting

By Katie Taranto

Published January 12, 2026 at 10:00AM

Anti-ICE protestors line Mount Vernon Avenue for an "ICE Out For Good" protest Jan. 11, 2026 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Hundreds of people gathered in Alexandria yesterday (Sunday) to protest federal immigration enforcement, days after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis.

Demonstrators displayed anti-ICE signs and American flags along Mount Vernon Avenue at Four Mile Run Park Plaza, earning loud honks from passersby throughout the afternoon. They chanted “ICE Out For Good” while memorializing Renee Good, joining at least 1,000 similar protests nationwide by the organizing group Indivisible.

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LaPluma cafe gets more seating and longer hours in Old Town, after neighbors rally support

By Katie Taranto

Published November 17, 2025 at 1:45PM

LaPluma Coffee and Wine offerings (via LaPluma/Facebook)

Alexandria leaders have approved an Old Town cafe’s request to expand its outdoor seating and extend Sunday hours, after several neighbors spoke in support of the measure.

The City Council green-lit LaPluma Coffee & Wine’s special use permit application to increase outdoor seating capacity from 28 guests to 40, and to remain open until 10 p.m. on Sundays, as opposed to 6 p.m.