The Virginia Immigration Commission said Friday it will study a measure to yank the business licenses of companies that knowingly hire illegal immigrants.
The proposal would add an extra deterrent to employers that skirt federal bans on hiring unauthorized workers. But it faces questions about whether it could pass a legal test over the state’s attempt to pre-empt federal authority.
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“I think we’re going to have to further examine that option,” said commission Chairman Sen. John Watkins, who warned of “problems” with the plan.
“Suppose you find one in the middle of Exxon Mobil, are you going to pull their license to operate?” said Watkins, R-Midlothian.
The move comes as states nationwide are considering broader actions on illegal immigration. Arizona starteed a policy Tuesday requiring businesses to check prospective hires electronically through a Social Security database; Sen. Chuck Colgan, D-Prince William, proposed a similar bill for Virginia.
Watkins advised lawmakers against approving the business license plan this session to allow the commission time to examine its legal and economic impact.
“I would hope they would give us time to look at all of the relevant features of a bill like that and try to report on it,” Watkins said.
The commission is expected to present its recommendations on illegal-immigration legislation at the end of the year.
The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors initially endorsed the extra curb on hiring illegal immigrants in November, but the newly elected board dramatically reversed course Thursday and discarded the plan.
The Virginia Crime Commission‘s task force on illegal immigration referred the business license proposal to the immigration commission for further consideration, said co-chairman Dave Albo, R-Springfield.
Passing such a policy would deter illegal immigrants from settling in Virginia, said Greg Letiecq, president of the anti-illegal immigration group Help Save Manassas.
But immigrant advocate John Steinbach of Mexicans Without Borders said it would produce a chilling effect on hiring Hispanic employees and prompt business owners to reject any immigrant workers, even if they are legal.
