Thread: VA Senate Kills House-Approved Bills Targeting Illegals

Senate panel kills House-approved bills targeting illegal immigration
By Fredrick Kunkle

A Democratic-led Senate subcommittee on Wednesday made short work of Republican bills sent over from the GOP-led House to crack down on illegal immigration, including a measure that would have applied Prince William County's strategy to the whole state.

HB1421 - the so-called anti-sanctuary bill sponsored by Del. David B. Albo (R-Fairfax)?

Dead.

HB1465 -- a bill from Del. Christopher Peace (R-Hanover) that would require colleges and universities to adopt written policies prohibiting the enrollment of illegal aliens?

Dead.

HB2332 -- Del. Scott Lingamfelter's proposal modeled on Prince William County that would require police to ascertain the immigration status of anyone arrested?

Dead.

Hurrying because the full Senate was to convene late in the day -- and perhaps because the outcome was all but pre-ordained -- Senate Majority Leader Richard L. Saslaw pestered the subcommittee chairman, Sen. John S. Edwards, to move things along. And Edwards (D-Roanoke) did, sometimes giving witnesses less than a minute to speak or no time at all.

Then Saslaw would make a motion to kill the bill, Sen. L. Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth) would second, and the Democrats, joined by Sen. Henry Marsh, would inevitably swamp Sen. Frederick M. Quayle, (R-Chesapeake), who several times cast the lone vote for Republicans.

"No one who pays attention to these things at all is surprised," said Del. Todd Gilbert (R-Shenandoah), whose closely watched bill designed to tally immigrant schoolchildren also died. "The Democrats threw in with the open-borders crowd a long time ago, so they're just being consistent."

His bill would have required local school boards to count the number of children who could not provide a birth certificate or enrolled in English as a Second Language courses.

The panel did approve measures to revoke drivers' licenses from people who are deported and to require some large government contractors to begin using the federal, computerized eVerify system to check workers' immigration status.

Although the panel voted to kill a stricter House eVerify bill sponsored by Del. Charles W. Carrico Sr. (R-Grayson), the members agreed to roll another eVerify measure sponsored by Del. Richard L. Anderson (R-Prince William) into a more lenient measure that Sen. George L. Barker and Sen. Jeffrey L. McWaters (R-Virginia Beach) shepherded through the Senate.

An overflow crowd filled the hearing room for the fast-moving hearing.

Supporters, such as the American Council for Immigration Reform, talked about the hidden costs of undocumented immigrants and crimes committed by illegal immigrants who should have been deported, including the triple slaying in Manassas on Feb. 10 that allegedly was committed by a man identified by police as an illegal immigrant.

"Several murders -- the one just last week -- may have been prevented if that person had been held," said John Kwapisz, of the Virginia chapter of the American Coalition for Immigration Reform.

A small contractor, Fred Laube, who owns Duke Construction, Inc. in Goochland, told the panel that he cannot compete with people willing to work for $3 or $4 an hour under the table while he pays taxes and files forms for his crews. He estimated that he has lost one out of every five possible home improvement jobs to competitors who use illegal immigrant labor and come in 30 percent under his estimates.

"We are paying what we are supposed to pay, and they don't," Laube said. "It's not fair."

Opponents warned that some bills would stir irrational fear and bigotry against immigrant communities, making them vulnerable to profiling or driving them further into the shadows.

Beatrice Amberman, founder of the Hispanic Community Dialogue Organization, warned some of the measures would damage the relationship between police and the immigrant community, who might be reluctant to report crimes.

Rebecca Jaramillo, of the Democratic Latino Organization of Virginia, suggested that some of those who were motivated to take action against illegal immigration were motivated by bigotry and discomfort with sweeping demographic changes that she has welcomed.

"But there were some people who were not thrilled, and they have done and they have had some behaviors that, quite frankly, have made me ashamed to be from that area," Jaramillo said. "It is time for people like me to say 'Enough. We can accept these people into our commuintiy without changing the commuity too much.' "

Business groups, such as the National Federation of Independent Business, also pushed back against measures that would require them to use the federal eVerify program, saying that rushing to comply could be an extra burden, especially for smaller businesses.

Some Democrats also warned that the GOP-led crackdown could backfire in a state that has become much more diverse, according to the latest census.

"The Republicans are on a longterm kamikaze mission," Del. Scott A. Surovell, a Democrat in a Fairfax district whose percentage of white voters declined by 10 percent in the past decade. "What's next -- they're going to require the grocery stores toi find out if you're here legally before you can buy food?"


http://voices.washingtonpost.com/virgin ... appro.html

I really find this whole subcomittee nonsense. A Bill is created put it forward to a Subcommitee for debate sure. But subcomittee's should not be able to by themselves kill a bill. If there are enough sponsors on the bill say 30% of either senate or house it should be required a floor vote. If a bill was passed from one house it should be required to go before the floor of the other house for a vote as the subcomittee job and the sponsors was already done.

All one has to do to kill a bill if your in the majority of a house w/o a real vote is to send it to a subcommitee that will kill it. There should be no easy way out.

I also do think this should be done for the benefit of both sides. Let the voters see who votes for what and then deside who the people agree with.

I hope Virginia voters are taking note of who is killing they bills they wanted passed. It's time to hand those people their pink slip and say you're fired!

We have to remove from office all the Democrats. And remember do not vote for Obama in 2012. He is not a US citizen. He was born overseas.

Once again another set of state bills bites the dust

Make no mistake , our biggest problem is the dems at this point , state after state , they are killing these bills

Related:


VA: Senate Panel Kills 10 Anti-Illegal Immigrant Bills
http://www.alipac.us/ftopicp-1186654.html

How can any people not pass such laws when millions of legal citizens standing in long lines every day at Unemployment Offices trying to locate jobs, because illegal immigrants have employed almost every vacant position comes available? Hospitals and clinics nationwide have to end medical treatments because of undocumented aliens not paying doctor visits bills and birthing children every minute of each day, and not paying one penny. Committing fraud crimes, molesting American children, murdering, raping, kidnapping and automobile assaults against citizens, home invasions, using false, stolen identifications to apply for employment positions, and the list goes on. What is the reason those people find it so hard to understand why this Country is falling apart more and more each day? How do they think citizens feel, having their tax money used to educate illegal immigrants, pay for their child births, and all other free benefits they receives through Social Services while residing in the U.S. illegally? What could possibly cause any person to not see or understand why laws must be steepened and enforced against undocumented aliens? Almost every legal citizen in this Country agrees that illegal aliens are the main reason for all the sufferings American citizen’s lives with daily, and they also agree that most of their jobs have been displaced by undocumented immigrants, but some people fails to acknowledge the truth or take actions to cease the troubles this Country currently has regardless of how much pain and sufferings it cause citizens to endure daily. It is absolutely sad and heartbreaking to see so many Americans lives be affected in the worst ways, due to unlawful actions of undocumented aliens.

The backlash has begun (amongst Latinos)

This will end the nightmare in this Country. The legal has spoken as well.

Originally Posted by Pisces_2010

The backlash has begun (amongst Latinos)

Originally Posted by stevetheroofer

Originally Posted by Pisces_2010

The backlash has begun (amongst Latinos)

I have spoken with many legal immigrants who says's they too would like very much to see laws increased against undocumented aliens because they are afraid the U.S. will become the same as Mexico someday. And when voting time comes they will vote for people who will assist with steeper immigration laws.