Va. General Assembly to take up immigration reforms

By: David Sherfinski
Examiner Staff Writer
November 14, 2010


The Virginia General Assembly will take up a slew of new immigration proposals when it convenes in January, including one proposal that mimics a controversial Arizona law that allows police to check the immigration status of anyone they arrest.

The measures were prefiled by Del. Dave Albo, R-Fairfax, who has pushed before to strengthen the state's handling of illegal immigrants, including proposals that would prevent those immigrants from getting driver's licenses or government benefits.

Albo's proposals all focus on toughening enforcement of immigration laws, and several would increase local police powers to enforce federal immigration rules. One is similar to a law passed in Arizona that requires police to check the legal status of anyone "taken into custody."

Albo said he introduced the bills after hearing from Virginians that the state's immigration laws appeared lax compared with those of states like Arizona, a notion to which Albo took exception.

"We're probably the most stringent state in the entire country," he said.

One Albo proposal would require the Virginia State Police to seek entry into a federal program, known as 287(g), that allows local law enforcement officials to enforce certain federal immigration laws. Another would bar local communities from limiting or restricting the enforcement of federal immigration laws.

The hot-button issue of immigration has surfaced repeatedly this year in the Old Dominion.

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell requested a 287(g) partnership for the Virginia State Police in August. But Albo said he filed the bill anyway because future governors might not be as supportive of the program.

Arlington County, on the other hand, tried to get out of the federal Secure Communities program, which requires local jails to check criminal suspects' fingerprints against databases at the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI. Federal officials, however, told the county it could not leave the program without severe penalty.

Donald Kerwin, vice president for programs at the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute, said that state efforts to combat illegal immigration through law enforcement have the potential to undermine federal enforcement efforts, however. Dealing with status violations, for example, could prevent the federal government's investigating more serious criminals and national security risks, he said.

Albo said he was confident he could get the bills out of the Republican House of Delegates, but acknowledged that getting them through the Democratic Senate would be an uphill battle.

"I'm holding out hope" for Senate support, he said, "but I don't expect it."

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