Virginia Just Got Tougher On Illegal Aliens
By Greg L | 1 July 2008 | Illegal Aliens, Virginia Politics | 18 Comments
Today is the day when new laws passed by the General Assembly go into effect. Through the efforts of Attorney General Bob McDonnell, a broad coalition of Republicans and Democrats in the General Assembly, and immigration law enforcement advocates such as Help Save Hampton Roads, Help Save Manassas, Help Save Loudoun, Save Stafford, the Vienna Citizens Group and Help Protect Culpeper, Virginia has become a little more difficult for illegal aliens to evade the consequences of their unlawful behavior. Here are three of this year’s most significant legislative victories:
SB517: Prohibit Public Contractors from Knowingly Employing Unauthorized Aliens
Patron: Senator Ken Cuccinelli (R-Fairfax)
Requires that all public bodies provide in every written contract that the contractor does not, and shall not during the performance of the contract for goods and services in the Commonwealth, knowingly employ an unauthorized alien.
HB440: Establish a Presumption Against Bail for Illegal Aliens Who Commit Crimes
Patron: Delegate Tom Rust (R-Herndon)
Adds a presumption of no bail for any person who is charged with certain crimes who is not lawfully present in the United States.
HB820: Cross-Check Info on Inmates Arrested and Currently in DOC and Jails Against LESC Illegal Alien Database
Patron: Delegate Dave Albo (R-Fairfax), Co-Patron Delegate Tom Rust (R-Herndon)
Requires an officer in charge of a jail or correctional facility to inquire of a person in his custody as to whether the person was born in or is a citizen of the United States, and make an immigration alien query with ICE, for certain individuals. The jail officer shall communicate the results of this immigration alien query to the Local Inmate Data System of the State Compensation Board. Any query confirming that a person is illegally present in the United States shall be reported monthly to the Central Criminal Records Exchange.
There’s a lot more that needs to be done, but this is a pretty good start. Next session, the member organizations of Save The Old Dominion will continue to push for effective action on the part of the Commonwealth to combat the unlawful presence of illegal aliens. If you’d like to help make the difference between success and failure during the next legislative session, don’t wait until next January to get involved.
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Hopefully there are some teeth in SB517 that will punish contractors who sign a contract and then violate it.
SB517-Public body contracts; illegal alien employment. Requires that all public bodies provide in every written contract that the contractor does not, and shall not during the performance of the contract for goods and services in the Commonwealth, knowingly employ an unauthorized alien as defined in the federal Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. This bill is identical to HB 1298.
Catawba, No teeth but it’s a start.
My FIRST thought is would my comment be blocked for saying:
WTF? Teeth, no teeth ( and nothing against you Maureen, much respect, I have for you)
BUT seriously, what are we fighting for when the Fed/State Gov takes away from our paychecks and makes US have to fight for……???????
Who is doing the work? Who is benefiting? WHO is COLLECTING?
Does anyone know if Arlington County police cruisers use dash cams?
And then I receive this E-Newsletter from Ken Plum, who apparently didn’t vote for either of these bills.
Independence and Immigration
Kenneth R. “Ken” Plum
July 2, 2008
When the English and others came to the New World in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries they displaced native persons who had inhabited these lands for as many as 15,000 years. Once established the colonists drew up a long list of grievances against the mother country and successfully declared and achieved their independence as a nation. We will celebrate that event this weekend. Subsequent waves of immigrants have contributed to making this country great and a destination to which many peoples of the world aspire to come.
Over the same time immigration policy has been controversial. Some have been welcomed; others shunned. Immigration is currently controversial because we do not have a clear policy on the subject. The Congress seems too polarized to act. Even the Bush administration with its many poor policy decisions had a sensible approach to immigration that a Congress controlled by the President’s own party at the time could not get itself together to enact.
There seems to be glimmers of hope as reasonable people are starting to speak up on the issue. A recent hearing of the Virginia Commission on Immigration was described in newspaper headlines as “State Panel Is Urged to Push for Integration and Access.” The story described a hearing where “most speakers exhorted panelists to pursue efforts to integrate immigrants and shun policies intended to drive out illegal immigrants.” (The Washington Post, May 23, 2008)
The most rational and reasonable policy statement I have seen on immigration was agreed to by the League of Women Voters national board in March 2008 after an 18-month study and was printed in their journal, National Voter, in June 2008. The League position provides in part support for “a system for unauthorized immigrants already in this country to earn legal status, including citizenship, by paying taxes, learning English, studying civics and meeting other relevant criteria. While policy reforms, including a path to legal status, remain unchanged, the League does not support deporting unauthorized immigrants who have no history of criminal activity.” The position goes on to state that “the League supports due process for all persons, including the right to a fair hearing, right to counsel, right of appeal and right to humane treatment.” The League supports its position with a fact-filled and thoughtful article in the same issue of National Voter that I recommend for reading.
We celebrate the colonists’ stand against injustices on Independence Day. The League of Women Voters is proposing a position of immigration that is in the best of the American tradition. I am pleased to join them in this stand and hope that other politicians will as well.
Well Kenneth R. “Ken” Plum, for your sake, it’s a good thing your political future doesn’t rest with MY vote.
Have you ever visited Ellis Island, Kenneth R. “Ken” Plum? Do you realize that all of those who came to this country for a better life, a new start, were checked out and many were turned away and sent back to their native home for a number of reasons, e.g., disease and poor character. Those who were approved to pass through often kissed the ground of their country…they were Americans, wanting to improve their lives and this country.
Those who wander across our border have not satisfactorily passed such checks, not to mention established quotas. In case you aren’t aware, Mr Kenneth R. “Ken” Plum, this country can not accommodate the millions upon millions who want to come here for the American way that many of us have worked to create.
I’m sorry Mr Kenneth R. “Ken” Plum, we’re not going to sit by and watch you “give our country away.”
Maureen, as the City of Manassas is using current Federal law to deny peddling permits to illegal aliens, i.e. those that cannot prove their legal residency, this would apply to local contractors, too, right? Can we require evidence of proof of residency of employees as part of a contract? My thinking is “no”.
The value of SB517 is to put into the legal text of a contract that the contractor would abide by Federal and state employment laws — and conceivably would make it easier to abrogate the contract if a violation occurs. (Too bad, we couldn’t require the same for sub-contractors.)
The only problem I see here is the fact they have an easy out. The contractor can say, “I didn’t know they were ILLEGAL.” This removes any punishment they could receive. That is a problem IMHO. Ignorance of the law is no excuse. They should have to provide proof of their investigation of the person’s status. This would allow the possibility of allowing them to get off the hook when an investigation is performed.
The email I sent back to Del Plum may come back to haunt me. My great grand parents scratched their names into the walls of the “receiving area” of Ellis while waiting for their papers to be processed. After it was closed and turned into a museum (of sorts) one of the attendants was kind enough to help me find their names and do a pencil rubbing. It’s a prized possession, kept safely in the Family Bible - one of the few things they brought with them on the ship.
Half of the family died of starvation and related diseases while waiting for their visas to emigrate. Back in those days, you couldn’t by passage without the visa.
Yes, this is very personal for me!
You’re absolutely right, Medic. The procurement law is a sham and a ruse, just like the federal laws against hiring and harboring illegals. As long as an employer or landlord can reasonably make the claim, “But I didn’t know he/she was illegal,” they can escape prosecution.
I drafted a County procurement resolution that would require all County contractors and their subs to use E-verify. I believe it was introduced by Mr. Stewart, but I am not aware of its status now. The good part about that resolution would have been that it would give private contractors who bid on a contract and did not get it a cause of “protest” if they could show the awardee was hiring illegals.
Wow Junes….I can imagine what that pencil rubbing means to you. I know, some would consider Ellis Island “ho hum,” but to me it was absolutely mind-blowing to see it and think what those people had gone through on the ships and continued to go through until they were “cleared” to proceed…and then, what they faced in this new land.
I object to the idea of this country simply being overrun by millions and millions who aliens who don’t respect our laws. I also object to our government which does not enforce our laws. My concern has nothing whatsoever to do with race nor nationality, but just because they’re closer, I don’t favor the poverty class of Latin America to the poverty class of Africa, Europe or Asia…and we simply can not take them all in.
I note you give credit to General McDonnell…my recollection of the session tis that he was noticably absent on the alien issues
The Original Advocator, Did someone steal your name?
I had no property rights to the name, Advocator, so “stealing” would not be the appropriate characterization of someone else using that moniker.
no Nation can absorb millions of of uneducated Immigrants like we are experiencing without taking on the same characteristics of their culture and society. One of the big mistakes many people make is thinking the illegal invaders want American citizenship. Most do not want citizenship the view their self as Mexicans or whatever and only come here for the jobs and welfare and taking advantage of the society & welfare system that legal immigrants build with great sacrifice over the years.
Mexico is an rich nation from resources to climate, their standard of living should be as high as the USA as well as most of the Latino Nations, the fact they are Third World countries is almost all due to their culture! I realize many will say it is their political system but they could change their political system if they really cared. I find it ironic and frightening that they will come here illegally, Wave Mexicans flags, while protesting for their rights and its gets little condemnation & lots of support from our politicians and citizens. All great Nations eventually wither & past away in the dust bins of History, from internal rot. There is no doubt in my mind we are well on our way and witnessing the beginning of the end of this Nation as a great power and a beacon of hope in an increasing dark and frighting world. Actually, the process is too far advanced to say beginning we are well into the middle. We will end up as a diverse Nation without any National characteristics or commonly help beliefs and each group with fight over increasing less resources or wealth and each group will live in their own enclaves and hate the other groups. Unless our borders are closed and our Laws enforced without any Amnesty there is no long range hope for the survivable and continuing success of this Nation!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/02/AR2008070203532.html
So, let me get this straight: if PWC makes it difficult for illegal aliens to take advantage of us, we’re racists. If San Francisco deports them, they’re heros?
Word up!