SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 120 AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE (Proposed by the Senate Committee on Rules on February 8, 2008) (Patrons Prior to Substitute--Senators Colgan and Stolle [SJR 93]) Memorializing the Congress of the United States to develop a comprehensive immigration policy.

WHEREAS, illegal immigration is currently a topic that has generated considerable discussion and controversy in the Commonwealth of Virginia and across the nation; and

WHEREAS, the number of bills introduced for consideration by the General Assembly of Virginia that pertain to illegal immigration has steadily increased in recent years. Most recently, 49 bills and resolutions were introduced in the General Assembly’s 2007 Session; and

WHEREAS, the increase in the number of bills related to illegal immigration in Virginia is part of a national trend, and a survey conducted by the National Conference on State Legislatures has determined that a total of more than 1,500 bills and resolutions on the subject were introduced before all 50 state legislatures in 2007, an increase from a total of 570 introduced in 2006; and

WHEREAS, the increase in the number of bills introduced for consideration by the General Assembly of Virginia, combined with the considerable uncertainty and differing opinions as to the legal authority of state legislation and enforcement related to illegal immigration, prompted the Virginia State Crime Commission to form an Illegal Immigration Task Force for the purpose of reviewing the impact of illegal immigration on Virginia’s criminal justice system and what measures may legally and effectively be taken at the state level of government; and

WHEREAS, it is the duty of the federal government to secure its borders and protect the security of its citizens; and

WHEREAS, the growing number of illegal aliens currently in the United States demonstrates that existing immigration laws and enforcement measures are not sufficient to stop illegal aliens from crossing our borders; and

WHEREAS, information presented to the Illegal Immigration Task Force revealed that regulation of immigration has been held by the United States Supreme Court to be exclusively a federal power and that most of the legislation recently considered by the General Assembly of Virginia is preempted pursuant to Article 7 of the United States Constitution; and

WHEREAS, despite the fact that existing federal immigration laws preempt most state measures aimed at addressing the issue, the existing federal laws have neither been enforced nor, as an alternative, amended or repealed, creating an unacceptable situation in which the federal government has the power to act but has neglected to do so while many states wish to act but cannot; and

WHEREAS, the failure of federal immigration laws and practices to adequately address illegal immigration causes a drain on limited state resources for the Commonwealth's educational, social services, judicial, law enforcement, and penal systems, and thereby causes an economic hardship on the Commonwealth of Virginia and its citizens; and

WHEREAS, the failure of federal immigration laws and practices has caused citizens of the Commonwealth, and other states, to look to state and local governments to solve problems that can only be adequately and comprehensively addressed at the federal level; and

WHEREAS, the Illegal Immigration Task Force has found that the few potential state measures that are not preempted by federal law will be of limited effect unless and until the dedicated employees of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement are provided with the resources needed to do their jobs and that state and local cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the enforcement of federal immigration law is pointless as long as Immigration and Customs Enforcement lacks the necessary resources to detain the resulting increase in the number of illegal immigrants apprehended pending possible deportation; now therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the Congress of the United States be urged to develop a comprehensive immigration policy. Such a policy should secure the borders of the United States, provide foreign workers and visitors reasonable means by which to legally enter the United States, and relieve state and local governments of the responsibility of controlling the illegal population within their jurisdictions; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Virginia representatives to the United States Senate and House of Representatives are urged to demonstrate leadership on the matter of illegal immigration. Specifically, it is requested that since Congress has chosen to preempt the states from enacting or enforcing many of the laws that states have sought to enact, that Congress should aggressively pursue solutions to the problem of illegal immigration by providing federal agencies with the necessary resources for the enforcement of existing federal immigration laws.  Should the members of Congress choose not to lead on a subject that they have purposefully reserved for themselves, legislation granting the individual states the additional authority and funding to address the problem of illegal immigration should be enacted; and, be it

RESOLVED FINALLY, That the Clerk of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, members of the Virginia Congressional Delegation, and the Governor of Virginia so that they may be apprised of the sense of the General Assembly of Virginia in this matter.

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 120 Offered January 15, 2008 Memorializing the Congress of the United States to develop a comprehensive immigration policy. ---------- Patron-- Colgan ---------- Referred to Committee on Rules ----------

WHEREAS, it is the duty of the federal government to secure its borders and protect the security of its citizens; and

WHEREAS, the growing number of illegal aliens currently in the United States demonstrates that existing immigration laws and enforcement measures are not sufficient to stop illegal aliens from crossing our borders; and

WHEREAS, the failure of federal immigration law and practices to adequately address illegal immigration causes a drain on limited state resources for the Commonwealth's educational, social services, judicial, law-enforcement, and penal systems, and thereby causes an economic hardship on the Commonwealth of Virginia and its citizens; and

WHEREAS, the failure of federal immigration laws and practices has caused citizens of the Commonwealth, and other states, to look to state and local governments to solve problems that can only be adequately and comprehensively addressed at the federal level; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the Congress of the United States be urged to develop a comprehensive immigration policy. Such a policy should secure the borders of the United States, provide foreign workers and visitors reasonable means by which to legally enter the United States, and relieve state and local governments of the responsibility of controlling the illegal population within their jurisdictions; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and the members of the Virginia Congressional delegation so that they may be apprised of the sense of the General Assembly of Virginia in this matter.