The Republican leadership of the General Assembly has proposed a number of measures to deal with the growing problem of illegal immigration in Virginia. According to a press release from the House Speaker’s office, the key measures would:

• Mandate that all local sheriffs, upon a lawful arrest for a crime, confirm that person’s legal presence in the United States using the nationwide databases of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
• Ensure that at least one person on duty in every jail at all times has been certified to detain and begin deportation proceedings.
• Create a presumption of no bail for any person who has been charged with an offense punishable by jail or prison time and who has been determined (through ICE databases) to be illegally present in the United States. This change will help stop controversial “catch and release” activities, one of the primary ways illegal aliens currently pass through existing government systems unchecked.
• Make a federal conviction for hiring illegal aliens grounds for suspension of a business license issued by the Commonwealth of Virginia. This change will serve as an effective deterrent to the unlawful hiring of illegal aliens.
• Prohibit illegal aliens from attending Virginia public institutions of higher education unless they have a valid student visa. Recognizing that college entrance slots are fixed and limited, this change will preserve state benefits for in-state students and their families.

Virginia Democrats appear to be divided on the issue of how to handle illegal immigration. There are the usual voices denouncing the initiative as a cynical election ploy playing to nativist sentiments of Virginia voters. But Democrat Albert Pollard Jr., running for the Senate seat of retiring Republican John H. Chichester, has announced a plan to help employers avoid hiring illegal immigrants by mistake, notes the Times-Dispatch.

And even Democratic Gov. Timothy M. Kaine expressed sympathy with the frustrations that the GOP legislators are trying to address. As quoted by the T-D, he said: “Because the federal government has completely abrogated their responsibility to enforce the nation’s immigration laws, states are picking it up.” According to the Washington Post, Kaine also said that he is eager to work with the Republicans to curtail illegal immigration but will wait for the findings of a state commission before endorsing a specific proposal.

The United States is a nation of immigrants. Everybody but a handful of nativists celebrates that tradition. Many take pride in the fact that the United States has become, in the words of columnist Ben Wattenburg, the first truly “world nation,” a mix of ethnicities from around the globe. At the same time, most Americans want to live in a country governed by the rule of law. It’s one thing to support legal immigration — according to rules and criteria established by Congress — and quite another to defend illegal immigration.

Every functioning nation-state in the world maintains control over who enters its country. Control over borders is a fundamental aspect of national sovereignty. If Congress is politically deadlocked over how to control the nation’s borders, then the states have every right to step in and fill the void.

The GOP measures seem better thought through than the wave of proposals submitted — and shot down — a year ago. But there may be flaws. If, so I would like to see them pointed out. I hope to see a calm and reasoned debate grounded in the facts.