State, Local Policing Authority Is Sought

RICHMOND, Jan. 17 -- Virginia Attorney General Robert F. McDonnell (R) called Wednesday for legislation and an executive order to allow state and local police to enforce federal immigration laws in an effort to crack down on violent criminals who are in the country illegally.

Flanked by lawmakers from Manassas, Prince William County and Herndon -- three Northern Virginia communities with large Latino populations and plenty of public pressure to get tougher on undocumented residents -- McDonnell said law enforcement must be given more tools to stop such criminals.

With training from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement branch of the Department of Homeland Security, state and local officers would have broader authority to detain individuals suspected of immigration violations, McDonnell said. As a result, fewer violent criminals would get away.

"We have no ability to detain people for violation of federal immigration law," McDonnell said.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D), however, reiterated that he does not intend to sign an executive order of the sort McDonnell endorsed. He said immigration enforcement is a federal duty, not a state one.

"What we want to do is demand of our federal delegation and legislators that they provide appropriate funding for anti-immigration activity, and not take the pressure off by having the Virginia taxpayers pay the bill," Kaine said.

Kaine also said the proposed legislation is not needed because local governments already have authority to team with the federal government.

McDonnell said that of millions of illegal immigrants in the country, about 80,000 have been convicted of violent crimes and deported to their home countries, only to return to the United States to commit more crimes.

The attorney general did not have data on how many undocumented immigrants suspected of violent crimes have eluded prosecution because state or local police were unable to detain them. He emphasized that the authority he sought for state and local police would apply only to individuals suspected of violent crimes. McDonnell said the federal government would pay for the training. His proposals drew criticism from some groups that support the rights of legal immigrants.

Cristina M. Rebeil, a lawyer with the Virginia Poverty Law Center, said the proposals would probably increase racial profiling of individuals suspected of being undocumented immigrants. She also said the measures would discourage legal immigrants from coming forward as crime witnesses or victims.

"We're seeing a huge amount of hostility from law enforcement," she said. "From our side, we only see it increasing, so we can only imagine what would happen."

In a related matter, the Prince William-Manassas Regional Jail Board approved a move to authorize local enforcement of federal immigration law in the regional jail. The measure was backed by Jail Superintendent Charles "Skip" Land and would give jail staff members who receive training the power to initiate deportation proceedings for immigrants with criminal records.

Staff writers Theresa Vargas and Michael D. Shear contributed to this report.