As gridlock in Congress prevents meaningful action on immigration, state lawmakers have begun to fill in the gap. Virginia’s legislature is one of the busiest -- taking a lead in state-based immigration legislation.
In recent years Virginia’s General Assembly has passed a hundred laws to regulate immigration. Many have to do with who is eligible for a driver’s license, or other state ID. That’s according to a recent report from the Bipartisan Policy Center.
The largest chunk of legislation affects whether immigrants quality for state services. Theresa Cardinal Brown is one of report’s authors.
“And those resources can come in many forms. Direct budget allocations. Education or health benefits,” Cardinal Brown says.
The report also focused on finding issues where Democrats and Republicans were able to come together on immigration.
“States traditionally have been more bipartisan than federal politics. We are seeing that fraying a little bit,” Cardinal Brown says. “But we wanted to see if there were things that we could learn from how and when and where states are working in the immigration space that could help for federal policy.”
One area lawmakers have worked together on is making sure immigrants can contribute to the state’s economy. Both parties have tried to make it easier for immigrants to work, especially in high-demand sectors like healthcare and agriculture.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
