West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced Tuesday that about five dozen people had been detained within a day of ordering cooperation between Charleston and federal immigration authorities.
By midday on Tuesday, 58 people in the Mountain State were detained within the Regional Jail system pending verification of their immigration status.
More detentions are likely imminent, Morrisey said as he repeatedly pledged his full support for President Donald Trump’s illegal immigration crackdown.
Morrisey, a Republican, and only two weeks into his term, promised a further update on his administration’s operations on Thursday, saying West Virginia has good reason to take every step possible to quash the crisis besides the fact these people are allegedly in the country illegally.
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West Virginia leads the nation in drug overdose deaths-per-capita, and Morrisey said illegal immigration and cartel smuggling play a key role in that crisis.
“To be clear, our numbers may be lower than others in terms of illegal immigrants… but I’ve repeatedly talked about the impact of having illegal immigrants [who] bring deadly fentanyl into the state — that’s flooding in from Mexico [with] raw ingredients coming from China.”
The West Virginia Department of Health & Human Resources recorded 1,389 drug overdose deaths statewide in 2023, down slightly from their peak at 1,537 in 2021. In 2001, there were only 212 such drug-related deaths among its estimated 1.75 million people.
“You’re going to find a Morrisey administration very cooperative with the Trump administration… It’s important for West Virginia because we have to stop this senseless death,” the governor said.
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Travelers are greeted by a West Virginia welcome sign after crossing the East River Mountain Tunnel on I-77 in Princeton. (Charles Creitz)
Morrisey praised Trump and said what the White House is doing is “absolutely correct.”
“We will take all appropriate steps to protect our citizens and work with the Trump Administration to crack down on illegal immigration,” Morrisey said in a separate statement to Fox News Digital.
The move received praise from other state officials.
State Del. Wayne Clark, R-Charles Town, called it “good progress” on both the illegal immigration front and the quest to curb the state’s drug crisis.
Huntington Police Chief Phil Watkins said some of his officers also provided support to recent ICE operations in what is West Virginia’s second-largest city.
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“As a general practice, we always try to accommodate requests for assistance from any of our law enforcement partners,” he told Wheeling’s CBS affiliate.
The Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation confirmed in a statement that it is detaining suspected illegal immigrant criminals in its facilities at the urging of federal agencies such as ICE and the FBI.
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