Panel OKs barring college to illegal aliens

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.

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

The proposal, known as “Conner’s Law” after the unborn son of California slaying victim Laci Peterson, passed the Senate Courts of Justice Committee 9-6.

The same committee tabled the measure last year after it overwhelmingly passed in the House.

The bill, submitted by Republican Sen. Kenneth W. Stolle on behalf of Mr. Kilgore, prompted debate among committee members over the definition of a fetus and whether the bill is already covered by current law.

The Virginia Code makes it a Class 2 felony to deliberately cause a woman to involuntarily terminate her pregnancy. But Mr. Stolle, Virginia Beach Republican, said his bill is different, making it a Class 2 felony to kill a fetus, even if the attacker doesn’t know the woman is pregnant.

The law would be punishable by 20 years to life in prison.

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