Attorney General Robert McDonnell and several Northern Virginia Republican legislators Wednesday called on Gov. Tim Kaine to sign an agreement with the federal government allowing state and local police to detain suspected illegal immigrants.
The agreement would allow authorities to detain individuals who police come in contact with while investigating a violent crime to be held on immigration charges if the police have probable cause to question their immigration status. If the immigrants are found to be illegal, then they would be turned over to the federal government for deportation proceedings. Victims and witnesses to crimes would not be subject to possible detainment, McDonnell said.
Current law allows for immigrants to be detained only if they have already been determined to be in the country illegally.
Kaine, however, rejected the request. Virginia already works with federal immigration authorities, he said, and taking a more active role could shift expensive responsibilities from the federal government to the state.
“We could do damage by signing that memorandum,” Kaine told reporters. “We would send out a signal to immigrant communities that might reduce their cooperation with law enforcement investigations.”
Even if the state will not act, McDonnell said, the General Assembly should pass two bills that gives localities more authority to reach an agreement with the federal government on immigration-enforcement matter. McDonnell said Herndon, Prince William County and other local governments are already working on pacts with the federal government.
Kaine said he supports the two bills, sponsored by Del. Thomas Rust, R-Herndon, and Sen. Jay O’Brien, R-Fairfax, because he believes local governments should have more decision-making authority.
“It’s a public safety issue,” O’Brien said.
Lawmakers have filed many immigration-related proposals, not all aimed at illegal immigrants. The House Rules Committee, for example, approved two resolutions Wednesday that created days to honor Indian-American and Korean-American citizens.
“We want to stop illegal immigration because it costs us so much money, but we also want to praise legal immigrants because they have made Virginia great,” said Del. David Albo, R-Springfield, a sponsor of both resolutions.
