Panel OKs barring college to illegal aliens

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From combined dispatches

RICHMOND -- A legislative committee yesterday endorsed a bill to prohibit Virginia's state-supported colleges and universities from enrolling illegal immigrants.

Delegate John S. "Jack" Reid, Henrico County Republican, said it isn't right for an illegal immigrant to take a seat in college from someone who is in the country legally.

But Delegate Adam P. Ebbin, Arlington County Democrat, argued that it's better to have educated immigrants working in good jobs than to deny them opportunities to improve themselves.

A Supreme Court ruling requires states to accept illegal immigrants in public elementary and secondary schools but makes no mention of colleges, Mr. Reid said.

The House Education Committee voted 14-7 to send Mr. Reid's bill to the House floor, where it will be up for a vote later this week. Attorney General Jerry W. Kilgore, a Republican, supports the bill, but Democratic Gov. Mark Warner opposes it.

The panel also voted to table a bill sponsored by Mr. Ebbin that would have allowed illegal aliens to pay in-state tuition if they meet certain criteria, including signing a pledge to seek legal residency. Undocumented immigrants now pay out-of-state tuition.

. . .

A Senate committee yesterday approved a measure that would allow a homicide prosecution when an assault results in the death of a fetus.