The intense illegal immigration debate that dominated several Virginia political campaigns in November spurred a flood of new General Assembly proposals that has the potential to overhaul how immigrants, legal and illegal, are treated in Virginia workplaces, homes, schools, jails and courtrooms.
With more than 100 bills tied to immigration-related issues, lawmakers will consider more than double the number of proposals in 2008 from 2007, including provisions requiring public school students to disclose their place of birth and two proposals making harboring an illegal immigrant a low-level felony.
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“The bottom line is: It’s part of making sure that Virginia is the least hospitable place to illegal immigrants,” said Jeff Frederick, R-Woodbridge. “It’s not a partisan issue.”
Some of the measures support illegal and legal immigrants, including increasing public funds for English-language schooling programs and a measure from Del. Al Eisenberg, D-Arlington, that would extend protection to crime witnesses and victims.
“We want to help legal immigrants become citizens,” said Eisenberg, who has sponsored another bill designed to help legal immigrants achieve citizenship.
“There are a few bills we like, but dozens we don’t,” said Andres Tobar, president of the Virginia Coalition of Latino Organizations, which is calling for state lawmakers to wait on the federal government to overhaul immigration law.
Many bills target employers’ hiring practices and illegal immigrants’ access to state services.
The General Assembly is weighing four proposals that would prohibit in-state tuition to illegal immigrants and another that would deny access to public higher education.
“You end up in a position where there are five bills addressing the same thing,” said Greg Letiecq, with the anti-illegal immigration group Help Save Manassas.
