Feb 1, 2009

Immigration debate fades as issue this GA session

RICHMOND

As a wedge issue in Virginia politics, illegal immigration is so 2008 .

A topic that once packed hearing rooms and sparked fierce debate in state government corridors barely registers today.

To some political activists, the diminished attention is a sign the issue has been worked over like a battered piñata emptied of its rewards.

About 130 immigration-related bills were introduced last year; about 30 were proposed this year, said Claire Guthrie Gastañaga , a longtime lobbyist for Latino issues.

“Political issues have a kind of product development curve, and this one peaked,â€