Immigration was one of the issues that helped Donald Trump win the presidency. But it’s also an issue that helped Democrats take control of the General Assembly.
Michael Pope reports on what they were able to accomplish with that power.
In-state tuition for undocumented students. Driver privilege cards for undocumented drivers. A new prohibition preventing police officers from asking about the immigration status of people who report crimes. An Office of New Americans to help people navigate the citizenship application process and provide assistance securing housing and employment.
Delegate Alfonso Lopez is a Democrat from Arlington, and he says the Democrats are acting on a mandate from voters. “We’ve finally done some fairly important things for immigrants and new Americans in Virginia that should have been done decades ago, and the fact is that we are not holding back on some of the stuff that Republicans have refused to even debate for years, for over two decades.”
Senator Ghazala Hashmi is a Democrat from Richmond, and she says she's seen the importance of in-state tuition for undocumented students in her work as an educator. “This is personally really important to me because I’ve worked with so many community college students who have worked six or seven years to finally achieve their two-year college degree but they hit a brick wall.”
These immigration bills are coming out of the General Assembly even as the Trump administration moves to tighten federal immigration laws.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
