Thread: Republicans announce measures targeting illegal aliens

Republicans announce measures targeting illegal aliens
By LARRY O'DELL
8/29/07

Republican legislative leaders said Wednesday that they will work for approval of five measures targeting illegal immigration when the General Assembly convenes in January.

The move comes as several localities _ primarily in northern Virginia _ are launching their own initiatives to deal with an influx of illegal aliens and what officials claim is an improper drain on public resources.

Senate Majority Leader Walter A. Stosch of Henrico County said the issue is one of several that GOP incumbents and candidates in the November legislative election will address in the coming weeks.

"As much as any one issue we can think of in the nation at the moment, problems associated with illegal immigration have raised the public's ire and diminished their confidence in government," Stosch said at a news conference.

He said the federal government has failed to deal with the problem, so it's up to state officials to find workable solutions.

The GOP proposals would:

_require sheriffs to confirm an arrested person's legal presence in the United States by checking nationwide databases maintained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement;

_require every jail to have at least one person on duty at all times who has been certified by ICE to detain an illegal alien until deportation proceedings can begin;

_establish a legal presumption that bail will be denied when an illegal alien is charged with an offense punishable by jail or prison time;

_make a federal conviction for hiring illegal aliens grounds for suspension of a state business license; and

_prohibit illegal aliens from attending Virginia public colleges unless they have a valid student visa.

"Permitting illegal aliens to circumvent the rule of law not only undermines the integrity and well being of our society and stretches thin limited taxpayer resources at all levels of government, but is an injustice to those immigrants who followed the lawful path in coming to Virginia and the United States," said House Speaker William J. Howell of Stafford County.

Leaders of immigrant organizations said illegal immigration should be addressed at the federal level, not through a patchwork of state and local laws.

"This could put Virginia businesses at a disadvantage with businesses in other states," Michel Zajur, president of the Virginia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said of the proposal to yank business licenses.

Claire Guthrie Gastanaga, a lobbyist for immigrant organizations, said officials from Virginia's four-year public colleges have testified in legislative hearings that they are not admitting anyone who is not lawfully present in the U.S.

"It's a cheap political ploy to satisfy some of their louder constituents," she said of the higher education proposal.

She disputed the notion that illegal aliens are costing taxpayers a lot of money, saying the benefits they bring to the economy outweigh their drain on services. She said a large majority of Virginia farmers said they would go out of business without seasonal immigrant workers.

Gastanaga also raised practical concerns about the GOP proposals, including the costs of the additional law enforcement technology and training. Legislators did not provide a cost estimate.

The only measure she embraced was the presumption of no bail for illegal aliens. She said anyone in the country illegally presents a greater flight risk.

Similar legislation sponsored by Democratic lawmakers died in a Senate committee last year. Critics, including some immigrant groups, said the measure conflicted with the principle that a person is innocent until proven guilty.

http://www.fredericksburg.com/News/apme ... ASINO1.xml

She disputed the notion that illegal aliens are costing taxpayers a lot of money, saying the benefits they bring to the economy outweigh their drain on services. She said a large majority of Virginia farmers said they would go out of business without seasonal immigrant workers.

Just some more of the same old lying whining B.S
Here's some tissue!

Just trying to appease voters


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