After killing off a slew of bills targeting illegal immigrants in Virginia, the General Assembly advanced one measure that would require state contractors to check the immigration status of all newly hired employees. Under the proposal, companies with state contracts worth $50,000 or more would have to enroll in the free federal E-Verify program. Currently, the federal government and 10 states require government contractors to enroll in the E-Verify program.
“It only took me four years,” said Sen. George Barker, D-Prince William, the bill’s sponsor. “This year, the business community said they would work something [out].”
Indeed, Barker’s measure got the support of an eclectic mix of advocacy groups, including the National Federation of Independent Businesses and the Virginia AFL-CIO.
Though it approved the E-Verify legislation, a Senate panel killed several tougher immigration proposals, including a bill that would require status checks for everyone arrested and another that would bar illegal immigrants from enrolling in colleges or universities, drawing rebukes from the bills’ House sponsors.
Del. Scott Lingamfelter, R-Prince William, took to the House floor Thursday to deliver a fiery indictment of the Democrat-controlled Senate that shot down so many immigration proposals approved by the Republican-controlled House of Delegates. E-Verify, he said, was not sufficient to crack down on illegal immigration in the state.
“You can’t wait for a feckless federal government,” Lingamfelter said. “I fear that until we elect people in the other body who understand that their first obligation is to the rule of law, not the rule of gangs, we’re going to come up short.”
The E-Verify program, though, was not without controversy. A Government Accountability Office report released last month noted that while the system’s accuracy has improved in recent years, problems persist and could lead to charges of discrimination.
“It’s nothing but an additional burden and a duplicative requirement that doesn’t do anything,” said Claire Guthrie Gastanaga, a lobbyist in Richmond and pro-immigrant advocate.
