Three states sign new ICE agreements as West Virginia cites fentanyl crisis

EXCLUSIVE: Three new states have signed agreements of varying intensity and substance, with one governor 1,700 miles away from Mexico saying his is effectively a “border state” due to its major fentanyl crisis.

On Wednesday, West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey will announce one of the most wide-ranging agreements a state has forged with ICE yet, enlisting the West Virginia State Police, Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation and National Guard to aid immigration enforcement through the “287(g)” authority heralded by President Donald Trump.

West Virginia has long ranked among the states with the highest rates of drug-related deaths, a crisis that Morrisey says underscores the need to work with ICE to combat fentanyl trafficking.

“Under the Biden administration, millions of people poured into our country unlawfully and we had no knowledge about who they were, or whether they were a threat to our nation,” Morrisey told Fox News Digital ahead of his expected Wednesday mid-morning announcement in Parkersburg.

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“West Virginia became an effective ‘border state’ due to the massive fentanyl problem caused by illegal immigration,” he said.

The National Guard and state police will have “task force” authority to interrogate any person believed to be an illegal immigrant as to his right to remain in the U.S. – under the supervision or direction of the feds.

Officers will be able to process immigration-related violations for those arrested for state or federal offenses, and can also make warrantless arrests of any illegal immigrant in the officer’s “presence or view” if that person is believed to be a flight risk in the interim of obtaining a warrant.

Morrisey also authorized state law enforcement to serve immigration warrants, administer oaths and collect evidence for “required alien processing,” including fingerprints and suspect interviews.

Unlike some other states, West Virginia law enforcement will also be able to issue immigration detainers, prepare documents for approval from federal ICE officers and arrest felonious aliens who have the penchant to escape.

West Virginia Division of Corrections will be permitted to hold immigrants on detainer, so long as the actions fall under federal auspices.

Corrections…