By Tim McGlone, The Virginian-Pilot - January 7, 2008

NORFOLK
By the end of the 2007 General Assembly session, the Republican-controlled Senate had successfully quashed attempts to crack down on illegal immigration.

In a compromise, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine and the legislature created a task force to study illegal immigrants’ effect on employment and education.

Then in the spring, Alfredo Ramos, an illegal immigrant, killed two teenage girls in a crash on Virginia Beach Boulevard, and another state task force, this one to study how illegal immigrants affect the criminal justice system, was created.

With the 2008 General Assembly session opening Wednesday, some advocates seeking a crackdown on illegal immigrants say enough with the studying. It’s time, they say, to pass meaningful laws combating the problem.

“It’s sad to say that it takes a tragedy for them,” meaning the General Assembly, “to correct the problems,” said Brian Kirwin, a Virginia Beach public relations specialist and an affiliate of Save The Old Dominion, a recently formed lobbying group seeking to reduce the number of illegal immigrants.

“I actually have hope we can make progress this year,” Kirwin said.

The effects of illegal immigration hit Hampton Roads hard after the Ramos crash claimed the lives of Alison Kunhardt, 17, and Tessa Tranchant, 16. But the issue was already front and center in Northern Virginia; advocates of change from there descended on the Capitol last session but largely failed in their efforts.

Save The Old Dominion was formed, becoming an umbrella organization tying together regional groups opposed to illegal immigration.

Those advocates are talking even tougher than last year.

“Since the last legislative session, we have seen illegal aliens murder our citizens, molest our children, and cause tremendous property damage that would not have occurred if our state government had only done its job,” Jerry Beckett, president of Help Protect Culpeper, wrote on the Save The Old Dominion Web site.

In one respect, the lobbyists seeking change could face an even tougher year, despite all the headline news, task forces and tough talk: The Senate is now controlled by Democrats, who have historically taken a more liberal position on immigrants. Kaine has already said he believes immigration enforcement should remain at the federal level.

“I’m not holding my breath,” said Del. David B. Albo, R-Springfield, who was co-chairman of the State Crime Commission’s Illegal Immigration Task Force and has introduced a bill that would require citizenship checks at local jails.

He’s also submitted a bill that would mandate fingerprinting of anyone caught driving without a license, as a way to catch illegal immigrants.

“I’m trying to reach common ground with everybody,” Albo said, but added, with frustration: “Can’t we all agree to kick out the people who commit crimes?”

The commission forwarded to the General Assembly 16 proposals that came out of a series of task force meetings last year.

Bills already introduced include denying bail to anyone charged with a crime who can’t prove citizenship, denying public benefits to undocumented individuals, forcing jails to verify citizenship of arrestees, mandatory fingerprinting of anyone caught driving without a license, and seizing vehicles of illegal immigrants stopped for traffic violations.

There also will be a push to hold accountable employers who hire illegal immigrants. Business leaders have already formed a group – Virginia Employers for Sensible Immigration Policy – to lobby against such proposals, and representatives of migrant workers also are prepared to descend on Richmond.

Tim Freilich, legal director of the Immigration Advocacy Program for the Charlottesville-based Legal Aid Justice Center, said the most “shocking” bill already introduced would require proof of citizenship in order to obtain a driver’s license or state identification card.

“If that bill were to become law, it would devastate Virginia’s economy,” he said, noting that roughly 10 percent of the state work force consists of legal immigrant workers here on temporary visas.

“It’s definitely one of the more ignorant bills that have been introduced,” Freilich said. “I’m hopeful that the General Assembly will focus on cracking down on employers who exploit immigrants in order to gain a competitive advantage over their rivals.”

Belinda Dexter of Virginia Beach, who served as a nonvoting citizen representative on the task force, will be heading to Richmond to advocate for tougher immigration enforcement. She is also a member of Help Save Hampton Roads, a new anti-illegal-immigration group affiliated with Save The Old Dominion and a similar organization, Help Save Virginia.

She wants to see a bill passed that would partner local police and sheriff’s departments with federal immigration agents in the enforcement of immigration laws, a step several localities in Northern Virginia have already taken on their own.

“I hope the people up in the General Assembly will truly be patient,” she said, “and dig their heels and research the issues.”

Tim McGlone, (757) 446-2343, tim.mcglone@pilotonline.com