Democratic gubernatorial nominee Ralph Northam said Wednesday that he would sign a bill to ban so-called sanctuary cities if a Virginia locality tries to become one in the future.
Republican nominee Ed Gillespie has pushed the issue of sanctuary cities to the forefront of the governor’s race. The term is loosely defined but generally understood as a locality that will not cooperate with federal immigration authorities. No Virginia city or county has tried to adopt policies to impede such cooperation.
Northam, Virginia’s sitting lieutenant governor, has insisted he opposes sanctuary cities while also accusing Gillespie of fabricating the issue for political advantage.
But in an interview Wednesday with the Norfolk TV station WAVY, Northam said for the first time that, under certain circumstances, he would sign a bill similar to the one he voted against this year, a vote that spawned a wave of ominous ads from the Gillespie campaign linking Northam to the Latino gang MS-13.
“If that bill comes to by desk ... I sure will. I’ve always been opposed to sanctuary cities. He knows that,” Northam said of Gillespie, whose MS-13-themed ads have been blasted by critics as racially tinged.
Northam elaborated Wednesday night in an interview with the Richmond Times-Dispatch, saying he stands by his vote against a bill that was nothing more than a “political game” meant to “promote fearmongering.”
“I don’t go to Richmond to play games,” Northam said.
During a debate last month in Southwest Virginia, Gillespie asked Northam if he would sign legislation to ban sanctuary cities if one appeared in the future.
Northam reiterated his opposition to sanctuary cities, but didn’t give a direct response on whether he’d sign a bill.
During the legislative session in February, Republicans maneuvered Northam into the position of having to cast a tiebreaking vote on a sanctuary cities ban that was ultimately vetoed by Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe.
Senate Majority Leader Thomas K. Norment Jr., R-James City, orchestrated the move by initially voting with Democrats to create the 20-20 tie requiring Northam’s vote. Norment then changed his vote so the bill could pass. The Gillespie campaign sent out a news release almost immediately, an early sign of the immigration-themed campaign ads to come.
Northam said if he wins the Nov. 7 election and Republicans send him the same bill to pre-emptively ban sanctuary cities that don’t exist, he’d veto it just as McAuliffe did. But if a locality does try to declare itself a sanctuary city and legislation to stop it lands on his desk, he’d sign it, Northam said.
The Gillespie campaign seized on Northam’s comments in the TV interview, saying Northam had promised to sign legislation like “the very bill he has bragged about voting against.”
“I sincerely hope that this change of heart is real,” Gillespie said in a statement. “That Ralph Northam recognizes MS-13 is a real issue, and a serious threat, and that allowing for the creation of sanctuary cities here would only make things worse. Given his track record on this issue, I’m not sure where the lieutenant governor stands.”
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