Va. lawmakers eye immigration reform in new session

November 28, 2010 - 2:30pm

Hank Silverberg, wtop.com

RICHMOND, VA. - Immigration reform will be on the agenda for Virginia lawmakers when they start the General Assembly's new session in January.

That includes a three-year-old law in Prince William County, which some have called a model for the state.

"It's something that can be safely tried and adopted in a state like Virginia and other localities and states," says Prince William Board of Supervisors Chairman Corey Stewart.

Stewart has been lobbying in Richmond for the state to adopt the Prince William model. But Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli says the law won't work in its present form.

He says parts of it are redundant -- for example, a provision allowing police to check the immigration status of someone already under arrest. Cuccinelli says police across the state already have the authority to do that.

He also says a second provision -- imposing fines for preventing police from enforcing federal immigration law -- is unconstitutional because the money is designated to go to law enforcement. That violates the state constitution, which requires such money to go to the state literary fund.

Several different proposals are being suggested for state lawmakers to consider in January, including one very similar to Arizona's controversial new law. That law is being challenged in federal court.

In his memo on the Prince William law, Cuccinelli also advised state legislators to concentrate their efforts on specific items not already covered under state or federal law.


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