Va. Immigration bills flood assembly
But Kaine cautions Va. against appearing to be hostile to newcomers

By OLYMPIA MEOLA AND TYLER WHITLEY
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITERS

As Gov. Timothy M. Kaine cautions legislators against Virginia appearing unfriendly to a diverse population, lawmakers are flooding the Capitol with legislation targeting illegal immigrants.

As of Friday, four dozen bills referring specifically to illegal immigration had been filed, and the deadline to submit proposed legislation is still five days away. Dozens of other bills would affect illegal immigrants, such as measures to crack down on overcrowded dwellings.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle attribute this year's surge of legislation, many more bills than last year, to growing concern over illegal immigration at the local government level and the attention it demanded during the November elections.

The Pew Hispanic Center estimates that there are 250,000 to 300,000 illegal immigrants in Virginia.

Among Virginia lawmakers' proposals are bills to punish employers who hire illegal immigrants; require that all driver's license exams be conducted in English only; prohibit any illegal immigrant from attending any state public college or university; and make English the official state language. The list goes on.

"It is very disappointing to see this avalanche of bills that focuses on a community whose only objective is to earn a living and to abide by our laws," said Andres Tobar of Arlington County, chairman of the Virginia Coalition of Latino Organizations. Tobar will bring a group to Richmond Tuesday to lobby legislators.

In his State of the Commonwealth Address, Kaine was wary about Virginia sending an unwelcoming message to people and businesses from other countries.

"We cannot afford to let supercharged political rhetoric unfairly paint a picture of Virginians as a people who are hostile to new Americans," the governor said.

Kaine added that lawmakers "have a responsibility to go beyond sound bites, to take the debate seriously and to spend the time it will take to craft a balanced response to our challenges."

Del. L. Scott Lingamfelter, a Republican whose Prince William County district is at the center of the illegal-immigration debate, said although Kaine recognized in his address that America is a nation of laws, he and Kaine have different views of the rule of law.

"What do you not understand about 'illegal'?" Lingamfelter said.

The increase in the number of bills doesn't necessarily mean they will fare any better this year. Nearly all the immigration-related measures brought before the General Assembly in 2007 died. Most of the bills cleared the House and then died in the Senate.

One big difference between then and now, however, is the 2007 legislative elections, in which illegal immigration was an issue in many districts.

Increasingly the state is seeing localities -- from Chesterfield County to Culpeper to Prince William County -- attempt to quantify the costs of services to illegal immigrants in their communities. More than 20 localities in the state have joined the Coalition on Illegal Aliens or expressed interest in working on the issue.

State lawmakers are now returning to the Capitol from localities like those, some of them after hard-fought campaigns fueled by illegal immigration-related debates.

State Sen. R. Edward Houck, D-Spotsylvania, said that was the No. 1 issue in his campaign, as he was portrayed as coddling illegal immigrants. Despite that, he kept his seat.

"There's definitely an issue out there, it's just how the public can sort out the government's responsibility in it," said Houck, who has not submitted any immigration legislation. "It's absolutely at the federal government level."

Like Houck, Sen. Charles J. Colgan, D-Prince William, survived a "soft-on-immigration" attack by his opponent in the November election. Colgan said one of his opponent's fliers showed Colgan at the Rio Grande beckoning immigrants to "come on over," he said.

"It is a very emotional issue," Colgan said. "That's all I heard during the campaign."

Colgan's and Houck's returns to the Capitol show that voters were not as interested in tough illegal immigration measures as many people want to believe, said Claire Guthrie Gasta?aga, a Richmond-based immigrant-rights advocate.

"It wasn't a very effective mechanism in the election," she said.

But that didn't dampen the volume of legislation.

Del. Christopher K. Peace, R-Hanover, is co-patron on a bill that would block an illegal immigrant from admission to any state public institution of higher education. Peace said the legislation is intended not to be discriminatory but to reduce incentives for people to come here illegally.

Attending state colleges and universities could be an attractive reason for some people to come here, he said. Some of the proposed legislation covering other areas needs to be carefully reviewed, he said.

"I don't want to jeopardize any federal funding in our zeal to crack down on illegal immigration," he said.

Lingamfelter has introduced a bill that would make English the official language of Virginia. He submitted another that would create an Office of Immigrant Assistance to help legal immigrants become citizens.

"They are not the problem -- illegals are," he said.

Contact Olympia Meola at (804) 649-6812 or omeola@timesdispatch.com.

Contact Tyler Whitley at (804) 649-6780 or twhitley@timesdispatch.com.

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