Should Virginia adopt an illegal immigration law similar to Arizona?

Anyone who has stepped in Northern Virginia knows that illegal immigration is a major problem. Led by Corey Stewart, Prince William County has taken steps to combat this in their neck of the woods. In Fairfax County the education budget exploded when an influx of illegal immigrant children entered into the school system after the Prince William crackdown. Herndon, Chantilly, and Springfield are also hotbeds for illegal immigrants looking for work.

With the federal government, which is already stretched thin, focusing more on cracking down businesses hiring illegals, should Virginia adopt similar measures to that of Arizona?

Arizona Senate bill 1070, the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act, allows law enforcement officials to detain anyone that gives them a reasonable suspicion that they are in the country illegally if that suspect is already involved in committing a crime. They are then to be turned over to federal immigration officials. Law enforcement personnel are prohibited from “solely considering race, color, or national origin” in enforcing this new law.

Arizona implemented this law mainly because of their security concerns on the U.S. border with Mexico. Crime, with a major concern to drug cartels, was the driving force behind the bill. The failure by the federal government to protect the borders also was a major component. In Virginia crime is a problem, particularly with gangs like MS-13, but the economic burdens might be the bigger reason to create such a law.

The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) estimates that there are around 295,000 illegal immigrants living in Virginia, as of June 2009. This amounts to the 10th highest illegal immigration population in the country. Taxpayer costs amount to $1.7 billion for medical bills, incarceration, and education. This comes to an average Virginia taxpayer bill of around $625. Almost $1.56 billion of that $1.7 billion goes to educate an estimated 70,000 illegal immigrant children.

Opponents of the law, like Rev. Al Sharpton, believe the law will lead to racial profiling. They also argue that a state does not have the constitutional authority to supplant federal statutes concerning enforcement of illegal immigration laws.

Despite the controversy surrounding the Arizona law (which has not taken effect yet) illegal immigrants are reportedly leaving the state in droves.

Oklahoma and Texas have signaled that there might be some interest from lawmakers to enact a similar law. In Virginia, however, Governor McDonnell told the Washington Post that he isn’t too pleased with the Arizona law:

“I’m concerned about the whole idea of carrying papers and always having to be able to prove your citizenship. That brings up some shades of some other regimes that weren’t necessarily helpful to democracy.

“There’s a divide, I’m finding, between Republicans who are ready to accept Rasmussen poll results as validation that the bill is a winner for them, and Republicans who see long-term damage in Arizona.”

So what do you think?

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