House Proposes Tough Laws; Senate Objects to Some

RICHMOND, Feb. 1 -- The Virginia House of Delegates pressed ahead Thursday with efforts to enact tough laws to curtail illegal immigration, including voting to deny in-state tuition to nonlegal residents, but Senate leaders are moving to block key parts of the agenda.

Worried that the state's growing minority communities feel under attack, several senators said they won't support bills designed to punish illegal immigrants and charities that try to help them.

"People are very concerned about the message on these things," said Sen. James K. "Jay" O'Brien Jr. (R-Fairfax). "We need to balance the humanity requirements of every person with the public safety needs of our communities but without a vindictive and mean-spirited approach."

Immigration rights advocates said that beginning Friday they will hold a four-day protest in Richmond opposing the legislation.

The debate, which comes amid widespread frustration that Congress has yet to enact comprehensive immigration reform, exposes a rift between the two Republican-controlled chambers.

"The fact is, illegal immigrants are costing taxpayers a fortune and putting our citizens at risk because they don't even belong here," said Del. Jeffrey M. Frederick (R-Prince William), the sponsor or co-sponsor of more than a half-dozen immigration-related measures, including one to make it a felony to harbor an illegal immigrant. "They have no right to be here."

In the past week, the House has approved legislation to strip charities of state and local funding if they help illegal immigrants, crack down on employers who hire undocumented workers and empower police officers to help federal authorities track down people in the country illegally.

On Thursday, the House approved a measure by a vote of 74 to 23 to deny in-state tuition to illegal immigrants.

"We are trying to put things in place so Virginia is not a magnet for illegal immigrants," said C.L. "Clay" Athey Jr. (R-Warren), chairman of the House Republican Caucus Policy Committee.

But the House bills have energized immigration rights advocates, whose protest will include a fast.

"We feel there are so many of these bills and they are so outrageous because they are designed to hurt people," said Nancy Lyall, legal coordinator for Mexicans Without Borders, one of a dozen groups sponsoring the protests.

The protesters may find a sympathetic response from the Senate Courts of Justice Committee.

Late Wednesday, the committee voted to table a key piece of legislation being championed by conservatives, including Attorney General Robert F. McConnell (R), to require state and local police to work with federal authorities in tracking down and detaining illegal immigrants.

Sen. Kenneth W. Stolle (R-Virginia Beach), the chairman, said the committee decided not to act because several police departments opposed the measure. Col. David M. Rohrer, Fairfax County police chief, testified that he worries that Latinos would be afraid to report crimes or cooperate with police if the bill was approved, Stolle said.

"Law enforcement officers are not equipped to do civil immigration law," Stolle said.

But Del. David B. Albo (R-Fairfax) said his constituents are clamoring for laws to curtail the flow of illegal immigrants. Albo is sponsoring a bill that would make it a state crime for an illegal immigrant to be in Virginia.

"The federal guys aren't doing anything," said Albo, who later added, "We have plenty of space in Fairfax" jails.

In an interview with Washington Post reporters and editors Wednesday, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) countered that state agencies and police already cooperate with immigration authorities. Kaine said he is concerned that the flurry of immigration bills up for consideration is harming the state's image.