Is ugly too strong a word? Hardly. “Make it a little harder to live here” are the words of one Prince William County resident ready to create a county-sanctioned hassle policy. “We can’t handle the hordes” are the words of a Loudoun County Supervisor playing to the idea that immigrants aren’t individuals. “Anything we can do to deter” are the words of a Culpeper City Councilman, who apparently is prepared to throw basic constitutional guarantees, universal human rights and family values aside if necessary. James City County and others are considering how to weigh in in the weeks ahead. It’s part of a public discussion of immigration policy and costs and benefits that is as old as the United States.

The actual language of resolutions being considered by Prince William, Loudoun and others looks a little tamer: Document the cost of services; study what local services legally might be denied undocumented immigrants; establish rules on how local law enforcement officials might check on immigration status and what actions they might take.

Dozens of bills introduced in the Virginia General Assembly in recent years have been presented by sponsors as simple enforcement measures -- deny in-state tuition, require increase liability of business who hire, dedicate state police to immigration law enforcement. But the language used by some officials in justifying these measures often mirrors the most inflammatory and provocative used by advocates of uprooting and repatriating the estimated 12 million undocumented aliens in the United States. The language is that of hate and fear, which once let loose with official sanction, is always destructive particularly of reasonable, workable solutions.

Reasonable, workable solutions are what are needed in dealing with undocumented immigrants in the United States. More federal law enforcement. Tighter border controls. A guest worker program. A path to citizenship. These and other provisions are a part of a bipartisan effort on immigration reform that included the White House and the Congress, but stalled earlier in the year. The failure of national policy and politics has prompted policy spasms at the state and local level.

The federal judge in Pennsylvania actually ruled that the the City of Hazleton acted unconstitutionally when it passed an ordinance that established penalties for businesses that hired undocumented immigrants and for landlords that rented rooms to them. Immigration is matter reserved to the federal government, the judge said, something local and state officials should know, even if some of their constituents do not. And officials should be clear that public education for immigrant children, documented or not, is the law of the land. Officials know, too, that the cost of library and swimming pool services that undocumented immigrants may consume are a tiny fraction of the cost of police, court and jail services they are considering.

So what is a state or local official to do when faced with the twin challenges of a group of rabid citizens and election year polls that show there is some traction for candidates who heat up the illegal immigration issue? Acting to reaffirm the reasons our Virginia forefathers chose representative government over direct democracy is a start. Don’t feed the fears or the expectations that local and state governments are the solution. Provide some balance to the discussions and direct those most concerned toward the federal government, the only jurisdiction that can produce any real solutions. Try something like this.

Prince William and Loudoun, our President is George W. Bush. Our United States Senators are John Warner and Jim Webb. Our Congressmen are Tom Davis and Frank Wolf. Do not send them a signal on immigration. As responsible citizens, communicate directly with the federal officials we elect. Demand that the President and the Congress meet their federal responsibilities on immigration issues. Do not ask your county supervisors and state legislators to do the job that belongs to these federal officials. Local and state officials can only demagogue the issues in an election year and undermine our other efforts to build vibrant and safe communities. And most of all, do not shove the responsibility onto Virginia businesses, landlords and state and local law enforcement officers. This is a federal government responsibility.