Policy Update: Suicide prevention, ICE detention trends, immigration enforcement, gubernatorial candidates’ disagreement on healthcare and gender-affirming care at launch of early in-person General Election voting 

(Week of Sept. 22-26, 2025)

• FCC Adds Georouting Requirement for 988 Texts

• Virginia Ranks as Sixth Highest State for ICE Arrests

• Virginia National Guard Mobilized, Deployed Statewide to Help with ICE “Administration,” “Logistics”

• Gubernatorial Candidates Launch 45-Day Early Voting Period, Stating Opposing Views on Healthcare Access, Costs, and Gender-Affirming Care

Mental Health: The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) is requiring all nationwide wireless phone carriers to add georouting for texts sent to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline in Virginia and nationwide within the next 18 months, thanks to pressure from mental health advocates. Smaller regional carriers must implement the order within three years. Georouting ensures that anyone who texts 988 is connected to the nearest 988 call center without revealing exact location information. The order expands on FCC’s georouting requirement for all wireless phone calls to 988 last fall since crisis care standards reinforce that outreach to 988 should be answered locally. You can help spread the word about 988 and other suicide prevention tools by downloading the SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) Suicide Prevention Month toolkit, which contains messaging and graphics for your practice and social media this National Suicide Prevention Month.

Immigration: Virginia now ranks sixth among states with the highest arrests by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, according to a new Immigration Enforcement Dashboard. The dashboard shows data combining detentions, deportations, and case arrests throughout the U.S. and by state since September 2023. Between January and July 31, ICE has arrested nearly 4,200 Virginia residents on immigration charges, nearly five times the number in prior years. An analysis of federal court records by the Deportation Data Project of UC Berkeley finds that undocumented migrants comprise an estimated 3.7% of Virginia’s population. NASW Virginia is working on an op-ed to submit to the Richmond Times-Dispatch about the harmful mental health impacts of mass deportations on children in particular, as well as entire communities.

Immigration: In a new effort to accelerate processing and detainment of detained migrants, 40 Virginia National Guard (NG) troops were mobilized, trained, and deployed statewide Sept. 19 to help ICE carry out its immigration-related goals. Officials claim the troops are “not becoming de facto ICE agents” and that training focused on logistics and administrative support. Another 20 troops will deploy by Sept. 30 through mid-November. Troops will technically remain under the command of Gov. Youngkin and the state adjutant general. NASW and NASW Virginia continue to strongly oppose the use of the National Guard against their fellow citizens and consider actions that use these combat troops to enforce or assist with mass deportation as a cause for “alarm” and “deep concerns.”

Voting/LGBTQIA2S+: In rallies to launch the start of early in-person voting last Friday, gubernatorial candidates Abigail Spanberger (D) and Winsome Earle-Sears (R) each spoke about healthcare with significantly different perspectives. Spanberger berated Congress for passing harmful Medicaid/Medicare and other healthcare cuts, promised to speak out strongly against them, and said she would work to improve healthcare access while lowering costs. Earle-Sears said she would “stand for righteousness” and end “divisive politics” that “confuse us,” emphasizing her desire for a full ban on all youth gender-affirming care such as “cutting off perfectly good body parts.” She also echoed the pro-federal-funding-cuts stance of guest speaker Vivek Ramaswamy, who helped launch the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Early voting runs until Nov. 1; find your satellite site here, and check out our Voter Information page for key info and deadlines to ensure your vote—and voice—counts.