Immigration Politics: Virginia General Assembly to take up tougher immigration bills

With the imminent return of state legislatures to their sessions, proposals to enact state immigration enforcement laws in the new year start to come to the fore.

Va. General Assembly to take up tougher immigration bills | Washington Examiner: "Del. Christopher Peace, R-Henrico, recently filed a bill that would bar illegal immigrants from attending Virginia's public colleges and universities. And Del. Dave Albo, R-Fairfax, introduced legislation requiring local social service agencies to verify the legal status of those applying for public assistance and giving the governor the power to withholding funding for agencies that don't comply.

The bill is one of several immigration measures filed by Albo, who advocated tougher restrictions on public services to illegal immigrants in the past. Another proposal mirrors a controversial law in Arizona requiring police to check the legal status of anyone "taken into custody."

The issue of illegal immigration reared its head repeatedly in the Old Dominion this year, in part because the state's new attorney general, Ken Cuccinelli, has focused much of his attention on it. Dec. 26, 2010