The bulk of a wide-ranging package of bills targeting illegal immigrants in Virginia is officially dead.
The Virginia Senate's Courts of Justice Committee Monday refused to hear the bills after a special immigration subcommittee rejected them last week.
The bills, introduced by Republicans in the House of Delegates, were aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration in the areas of law enforcement, higher education and employment.
Del. Scott Lingamfelter, R-Prince William, who sponsored two of the bills including one that would have required law-enforcement officers to make inquiries into a person's citizenship status upon arrest, expressed disappointment.
"The effects of illegal immigration are being felt in communities across Virginia and those who continue to make excuses for unlawfully present persons and neglect their duty to represent their constituents will learn the cost of that inaction," he said in a statement.
"They are acting a bit like Democratic senators in Wisconsin who are in hiding, shirking their duty, when they should actually vote on the bills," he added.
The two immigration bills still alive would allow the Department of Motor Vehicles to cancel a driver's license if the licensee is found to be illegal and require state contractors with contracts exceeding $50,000 to use the E-Verify system to ensure that new employees are eligible to work in the U.S.
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