HB 650 Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

Courthouses; certain civil arrests prohibited, penalty.

Summary
Prohibiting certain acts in furtherance of federal immigration enforcement in certain protected areas; exceptions; penalties. Prohibits certain federal civil immigration enforcement activities in certain protected areas including any courthouse, within 40 feet of any polling place or building used as a meeting place for the local electoral board while the electoral board meets to ascertain the results of an election, and any place or facility owned by the Commonwealth that is a hospital or other health care facility, a school or public institution of higher education, or an office of the attorney for the Commonwealth. The bill prohibits any civil arrest in a courthouse pursuant to a civil administrative warrant, subject to certain exceptions such as service or enforcement of an order for failure to pay child support or for any arrest occurring in connection with a court proceeding that is taking place or is scheduled to take place. The bill provides that such provisions shall not apply when such arrest is authorized by a judicial warrant or judicial subpoena.The bill also authorizes a local school board to include in its written school crisis, emergency management, and medical emergency response plan a procedure for notifying school board employees and parents of enrolled students of the presence of certain individuals on school property for immigration investigation or enforcement purposes. The bill requires each public institution of higher education to adopt a policy that requires an individual present on campus to investigate compliance with, enforce, or assist in an investigation or enforcement of any federal immigration law to present a valid judicial warrant or judicial subpoena before accessing any nonpublic area of the campus. This bill incorporates HB 1260, HB 1265, HB 1440, and HB 1442 and is identical to SB 351.
Bill status vetoed 4 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Mar 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
Vetoed
Apr 2026
Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Vetoed Apr 12, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 5 comparisons

What changed between versions

Subcommittee #3 Subcommittee Substitute Courts of Justice Substitute · 7 edits
MODERATE
The bill was amended to narrow its scope from a broad prohibition on federal immigration enforcement in protected areas to a specific ban on civil arrests within courthouses. This change removes protections for hospitals, schools, and attorney offices, and deletes all provisions related to school safety audits, polling place security, and election recount procedures, leaving only the core definition of civil arrest and the new courthouse restriction.
Scope change
The bill's scope was significantly reduced from covering multiple protected areas (hospitals, schools, courthouses, polling places) and election processes to focusing exclusively on civil arrests within courthouses.
SCOPE

Deleted the entire section prohibiting federal immigration enforcement activities in protected areas such as hospitals, schools, and attorney offices.

REQUIREMENT

Removed all provisions regarding school safety audits, emergency response plans, and notification procedures for immigration investigations on school campuses.

Deleted all clauses prohibiting immigration enforcement activities at polling places and during election recounts.

Narrowed the definition of the bill's purpose from prohibiting immigration enforcement generally to specifically banning civil arrests in courthouses.

ENFORCEMENT

Removed the misdemeanor penalty for violating the protected areas and polling place restrictions.

Changed the penalty for violating the new courthouse rule from a Class 1 misdemeanor to contempt of court.

Removed the requirement for law enforcement to confirm the authenticity of civil arrest warrants in writing before entering a courthouse.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 6, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 12, 2026

How they voted

380
Passed · 1 other
Total votes 39
Mar 6, 2026
D Democratic20
20 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican19
18 Yea 1
94% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
51
Key actions
13
Committee
11
Apr 12, 2026
Vetoed
Governor's recommendation received by House
executive
Mar 31, 2026
Lower · Passed
Signed by Speaker
lower
Mar 30, 2026
Upper · Passed
Signed by President
upper
Mar 30, 2026
Lower · Passed
Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB650ER)
lower
Mar 14, 2026
Upper · Passed
Conference report agreed to by Senate (21-Y 18-N 0-A)
upper
Mar 14, 2026
Lower · Passed
Conference report agreed to by House (62-Y 35-N 0-A)
lower
Mar 13, 2026
Legislature · Passed
Conference Report released
legislature
Mar 12, 2026
Committee
Senate requested conference committee
upper
Mar 10, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed Senate with substitute (21-Y 19-N 0-A)
upper
Mar 9, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed by for the day
upper
Mar 6, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)
upper
Mar 4, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (8-Y 6-N)
upper
Feb 13, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
upper
Feb 12, 2026
Lower · Passed
Read third time and passed House (63-Y 35-N 0-A)
lower
Feb 6, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported from Public Safety with substitute (15-Y 7-N)
lower
Feb 6, 2026
Lower · Passed
House subcommittee offered
lower
Jan 29, 2026
Committee
Assigned HMPPS sub: Subcommittee #3
lower
Jan 28, 2026
Committee
Referred from Courts of Justice and referred to Public Safety (Voice Vote)
lower
Jan 13, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
lower
1 primary · 31 co-sponsors

Sponsors