Stronger immigration laws proposed

Stronger immigration laws proposed
http://www.timescommunity.com/site/tab5 ... 6096&rfi=6
By: Michelle Zimmermann
09/04/2007

A proposal by a handful of state Republicans, if passed by the General Assembly in the coming session, would put some teeth into immigration law enforcement at the local level.

Details

Elements of a Republican immigration plan propose several different measures.

*Barring any illegal alien from attending a Virginia college or university

*Requiring sheriffs to check prisoners' immigration status upon arrest

*Having one person on staff at all times in jails across the state who is federally certified to begin deportation processes

*Denying bail to any proven illegal alien who shows up in jail who has been previously charged with a crime

*Stripping a company of its state business license for a federal immigration offense

But some Democrats are saying that the proposal amounts to "new wine in an old bottle," and that the plan would unduly burden counties where illegal immigration isn't as severe a problem.

Players on both sides of the argument agree on one thing: The federal government isn't doing enough to stem illegal immigration at the borders.

Del. Dave Albo, who chairs the Courts of Justice committee in the House of Delegates, announced details of the plan on Aug. 28, along with Sen. Jay O'Brien (R-Clifton), House Speaker William Howell (R-Stafford) and Senate Majority Leader Walter Stosch (R-Henrico).

Five distinct elements of the plan range from barring illegal immigrants from attending any Virginia college or university, to endowing sheriffs and jail personnel with federal deportation powers.

O'Brien's district covers portions of both Fairfax and Prince William counties, which he cites as the reason he has positioned himself with Republican leadership on the issue. He said Prince William has set an example of not waiting for state mandates to address what it views as a pervasive problem and that statewide legislation would send a clear message: No place is safe.

Legal citizens shouldn't be penalized by an additional tax burden to support the services illegal immigrants avail themselves of, he added.

"This is a universal requirement that would say, if you're an illegal and you commit a crime, we'll get you," O'Brien said. "I think that tells everybody in Virginia to strive for legal presence. It's not about saying you can't get in, it's about saying, what do you need to do to get in?"

He added that statewide implementation is necessary to prevent "sanctuary" areas from developing, as he said would likely happen if Prince William aggressively monitored for illegal immigrants, but Fairfax doesn't.

Democrat Del. Vivian Watts (Annandale), who also serves on the Courts of Justice committee alongside Albo, said the ideas aren't anything new.

She pointed to a number of bills that were introduced by both House and Senate members relating to illegal immigration, including one she proposed that would impose a civil fine on employers who fail to produce documentation for their workers.

"Some of these same proposals have been around before in a much more focused basis," Watts said. "If this is to go statewide in every locality, there will be all kinds of objections to it - we don't have the justification."

Mainly, that objection would be to the costs of implementing such measures, she added.

Delegates and senators introduced at least 28 bills relating to illegal immigration in the 2007 session. Watts' bill died, as well as several by Albo, O'Brien and other lawmakers across the state.

All but two of those bills were shot down. The two bills that survived, one each in the House and Senate, made a crime of confiscating immigration documents for extortion purposes.

Watts said a more reasonable solution would be to deal with those issues on an "as-needed" basis. She expects Democrats to introduce their own slate of immigration measures in the 2008 session as well.

That's not effective enough, O'Brien said.

"I say, pass the bill, and tell [the counties] do it," he said.

Contact the reporter at mzimmermann@timespapers.com.

The problem of illegal immigration could be solved quickly and in-expensively by making it impossible for illegal workers to work. If you do not have legal document to work, you simply cannot work. That will solve all the other problems with illegal immigration. Go after busines that hire illegal workers. False or stolen SS number can now be checked.
Work is the issues. Work is what brings them here. If they cannot work the will go home and they will stop trying to cross the border. We need more raids, arrests and deportations. When they get the message that we are serious they will leave. We have gotten serious, but we need to speed it up.