"Without justice being freely, fully, and impartially administered, neither our persons, nor our rights, nor our property, can be protected."

   -- Joseph Story, associate justice of the Supreme Court, 1811–1845.

In the first three business days after the new law, Virginia's Department of Motor Vehicles turned more than 3,000 people away - and those driver's license denials have been steadily growing since the inception of the law.

According to an immigrant advocate organization, the National Immigration Law Center, "During the 2003 state-legislative sessions, approximately 117 bills were introduced that address immigrants' ability to obtain a driver's license. Approximately 37 of the proposals sought to expand immigrants' access to driver’s licenses, and 65 bills sought to restrict access. In addition, 14 bills that affect immigrants - but that don't directly expand or restrict their access to driver’s licenses - were introduced."

"As of July 2003, 17 of these driver's license-related bills have been enacted into law."

One of those bills was initiated and endorsed by former Virginia attorney general Jerry Kilgore.

In a 2003 press release, Kilgore said, "A Virginia driver’s license or identification card is a key document for access to all types of venues - including boarding an airplane. There is no question that in this post-9/11 world we must be ever vigilant and provide no easy avenues for terrorists to harm our citizens.

"We have taken a careful, common sense approach by tying the expiration dates of driver's licenses to the documents of legal residents of this country."

More recently as a GOP gubernatorial candidate, Kilgore told the Blue Dog in an exclusive interview, "The attacks of 9/11 demonstrated that the government was not doing an adequate job in knowing who was in our country and why they are here. Seven of the 19 terrorist hijackers of Sept. 11 were known to have illegally obtained Virginia's drivers licenses. That's why, as attorney general, we successfully initiated legislation to tighten Virginia's drivers' license laws that went into effect Jan. 1, 2004."

"This common-sense legislation ties the expiration dates of driver's licenses issued to legal immigrants or those here legally on a temporary basis to the expiration dates of their valid immigration papers."

For a moment, the Blue Dog thought Kilgore's common-sense approach might have stumped that stubborn Valley Yellow Dog.

But my often ultra-liberal thinking Valley Yellow Dog Democrat replied in-kind, "Very difficult issue. On the one hand, 'those people' should not be here. On the other hand, we are happy to have them pluck our chickens and mow our grass and fix our cars."

"Denying them drivers' licenses prevents them from getting automobile insurance. Denying their children education means we raise more dummies - we have enough native-born illiterates as it is. Denying them regular health care means greater stress on emergency facilities. The states and localities cannot fix the problem piecemeal by themselves without creating a patchwork of illogical and unjust restrictions."

Nevertheless, the Virginia General Assembly's elected members are striking a nerve with illegal immigrant bills, but the verdict is still out.

Because there's no dog like a legal dog.

Legislated grandstanding?

Most of the bills passed the House of Delegates this past year but were later defeated in the Senate, more often than not in the Senate committee hearings that avoided a floor vote.

Like I said, some dog-stiffener immigrant bills have passed, others failed.

According to The Washington Post, Virginia House Speaker William J. Howell, R-Stafford, summed up the illegal-immigration legislation by saying, "What part of illegal don't they understand? The people are not supposed to be here."

No kidding Bill concerning the bill (but could it be the language barrier?)

The Senate Education and Health Committee voted 12-3 to kill the legislation barring the undocumented from attending Virginia's public universities.

The bill's patron, Thomas Gear, R-Hampton, said, "What part of illegal don't they understand? If they're illegal, they're illegal" after the committee vote.

The Daily Press wrote, "To Del. Thomas Gear, it was simple: Illegal immigrants shouldn't be going to our colleges and universities."

In past General Assembly sessions, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund officials publicly berated and assailed Kilgore for advocating legislation to reserve spaces in public colleges and universities for students who are legal residents - and are taxpayers in the United States.

Kilgore told the Blue Dog, "As a first-generation college student, I understand how important higher education is to the success of our students, and we ought to do all that we can to encourage our students to be life-long learners. As attorney general, we were asked to give guidance to our colleges and universities on the matter of undocumented individuals as it pertains to their admissions into our institutions of higher education and in-state tuition."

"I advised that as a matter of policy they should not admit undocumented individuals and if such students were admitted by the schools, they were not, as a matter of law, eligible for in-state tuition rates this was held up in a court of law."

The Blue Dog agrees with Mr. Kilgore because it's not too doggone rough to expect folks to obey the law of the land. And I believe it's absolute political folly to allow these elected members of the General Assembly to legislate lower tuition rates for illegal immigrants versus out-of-state students, who are United States citizens.

It's unbelievable! That any elected member of the Virginia General Assembly, Dem or 'Pub, would require a U.S. citizen from out of state pay very expensive tuition to attend Virginia's universities, while illegal immigrants receive state-resident rates.

Matter of fact, I say its nothing more than subsidized tuition for lawbreakers. And it's just another reason to tar and feather these guys and gals in the General Assembly.

Virginia has decided to legislate restrictions on Medicaid benefits for undocumented immigrants.

But some Northern Virginia Democrats are not happy campers.

The Washington Post reported that Del. Brian Moran, D-Alexandria, said, "The only thing this really does is place an unnecessary and substantial burden on legal United States citizens. And those people are our constituents."

For the record: Virginia Medicaid costs are skyrocketing due to added pressure of insuring the undocumented. But the measure is a day late and millions of taxpayers' dollars short.

In his announcement speech, GOP lieutenant-governor candidate Bill Bolling said he supported denying state benefits to illegal aliens as Virginia's lieutenant governor. But the other lieutenant-governor candidates have distanced themselves from the issue. Why, I'm not sure.

The Blue Dog finds it simply incredible that none of the Virginia attorney general candidates have addressed illegal immigration on their statewide campaign Web sites.

Bob McDonnell, Steve Baril and Creigh Deeds are AWOL on the issue ... when Virginia's public safety and the enforcement of existing laws should be the first priority of any candidate running for the attorney general's position.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tim Kaine had nothing to say to the Blue Dog and neither did the Republican-in-name-only independent candidate, Russ Potts, who loves Virginia so much.

Hey, buddy, I feel the love, but as a Virginia taxpayer I feel your tax increasing pain more.

But the Blue Dog did receive a good reply from the other Republican candidate, George Fitch.

He said, "There is the social cost from the spiraling gang violence of Sava Matrucha, which are primarily illegal Salvadorans." 

Marking contrast between the two legitimate GOP candidates, George Fitch said, "Here is where I perhaps differ in my approach to Kilgore. I've heard Kilgore state that we should solve this problem by reaching out to the parents of these troubled, undisciplined kids. That's naive. The parents of these gang members don't live here, they are back home. I was living in El Salvador in the mid-'90s as a managing partner for an ethanol project and witnessed how the Salvador authorities treated the gang members that were being deported from the U.S., primarily the L.A. area. There was no coddling, just harsh, strict treatment. Yes, they did engage the local churches and faith-based groups to help out, and that was successful because they are very religious people."

Fitch went on to say, "We should apply the same approaches to treat the problem here. Since it is a problem originating with the federal government, insufficient control of our borders and lax visa policy, we need to engage the federal authorities with more than just participating in joint law enforcement task forces, and I applaud the efforts we have started to take in this regard by directing more resources to the Hispanic gang problem."

"We should consider removing the tax burden on legal Virginia residents by transferring these gang members and illegal aliens who have committed any crime to a federal detention center."

On the flip side

Immigration-rights advocate She-Devil Dog wrote, "It is true that undocumented children have a right to go to school, and they do. But there is no evidence that they are bankrupting educational systems. Participation of non-citizens including those legally here in social programs is negligible - JLARC cite Medicaid, and FAMIS is minimal. There is no documentation to show that any person who is illegally here is getting these benefits since that would be a violation of federal law, except for medical emergencies and public health programs, such as immunization.

"There is no support for your argument that undocumented people are driving health-insurance costs."

But are there alternatives?

The Democratic-thinking Atomic Dog wrote, "There have been two really innovative solutions to the indigent health-care question floated. One is mandatory employer-paid health care for all employees, but many regard that as a deal-breaker for the restaurant industry. The other, attempted by Canyon County, Idaho, commissioner Robert Vasquez, was to send the Mexican Consulate a bill for the cost of indigent health-care services provided in his county to Mexican nationals. That may be a stroke of genius: rebilling other countries for the care of their poor citizens who happen to be trying to move ahead by working in this country.

"Education and social services both beg a much larger question, regarding the general welfare of poor immigrant children, many of whose parents may be migrant workers. Frankly, I'm going to dodge this one for now, because I don't have all the right questions to ask, let alone any answers."

According to a March 2003 RoperASW Poll, prepared for Negative Population Growth, more than 85 percent of those surveyed believe illegal immigration is a "serious" problem.

Sen. Richard L. Saslaw, D-Fairfax said, "I see a pattern here with all this stuff, and it's all about November."

Saslaw is right, but for all the wrong reasons, as far as the Blue Dog is concerned.

Is this a case of ethnic intolerance or political haymaking by the right or the left?

Regardless, it's dog-walloper of a political issue.

It's just the law

After the She-Devil Dog read another PC riot act to the Blue Dog, she commented, "The governor previously vetoed a bill that would mandate that all undocumented students be considered out of state students regardless of tax status, etc." 

"This leaves these determinations to be made on a case-by-case basis by colleges."

The She-Devil Dog went on to say, "The legislature has twice refused to pass a law prohibiting undocumented students from attending Virginia public colleges at all. The Senate rebuffed an attempt this year to undo a compromise on workers comp passed over Gilmore's veto in 2000, that added illegal aliens to our workers' comp program."

Liberal Democrats are singing a different tune of the Left Coast ... err, I meant the West Coast.

Of late, Fortune magazine wrote, "Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California estimates medical costs for illegal immigrants are running about $1 billion a year in her state; with superb political instincts, she's blaming no one and simply backing a bill to reimburse state and local hospitals with federal money."

In Virginia, this past General Assembly session, the House voted 81-17 to approve the state benefit restriction to undocumented or illegal aliens, and the Senate approved the bill by a 27-11 vote as well.

At the time, the She-Devil commented, "The governor is now weighing signing HB 1798 and SB1143, which would impose new legal presence requirements on Medicaid, TANF, general relief and auxiliary grants. The problem is that the only effect of these bills will be to impose on U.S. citizens a new requirement to show proof of citizenship. All of these programs (except, perhaps, general relief) already are covered by federal legal presence requirements that allow U.S. citizens to attest under oath (and penalty of perjury) to their status." 

"This new state law will require them to prove their status requiring, for example, family members of aging Medicaid nursing home patients to find or apply for birth certificates, etc. All this when there is no evidence that a single undocumented person has ever benefited from these programs."

But that argument didn't bode well with the Third Floor staff.

For the record: Virginia Gov. Mark R. Warner's spokeswoman Ellen Qualls said Medicaid bills dealing with social services were "under review" - and the American Civil Liberties Union will ask Warner to veto the legislation. But Warner eventually signed the Legal Presence for Public Benefits legislation.

In the governor's press release, Warner said, "This legislation provides that no person who is not a U.S. citizen or legally present in the United States is eligible for any state or local public benefits. The bill exempts children and emergency-health services from these provisions and has a delayed effective date of Jan. 1, 2006. I have signed this legislation into law but will ask the Latino Advisory Commission to study and monitor the legislation to ensure that it is fairly implemented and does not impose undue costs on local governments." 

Kilgore said, "I don't think it is too much to ask for people to obey the laws of our society before they take advantage of what our society has to offer. I commend Gov. Warner for approving Del. Albo's common-sense legislation restricting the ability of certain undocumented immigrants from receiving certain state and local benefits."

"Yes, I agree, support and endorse Albo's bill that Warner just signed," Fitch said.

Fitch continued to explain the challenges. "I've heard the arguments supporting school admissions, driver licenses, benefits, etc., to illegal immigrants, but they do not overcome the argument that you do not reward someone for breaking the law."

"Yes, in some cases it might be unfair to penalize someone for the sins of their father or mother, but we cannot continue to unfairly burden law-abiding, legally residing Virginia taxpayers."

But it's crystal clear that Warner's political viability depends on ability to pander without offending a living soul of Hispanic origin in the Commonwealth - legal or illegal.

Because dealing with the undocumented upsets the feel-good comfort zone of the hoity-toity Democratic elite who supported Warner, he sought balance.
In the same legislative press release, Warner said, "In the fall of 2003, I was pleased to establish through executive order a Latino Advisory Board to promote the development of economic, professional, cultural, educational and government links between the Commonwealth of Virginia, the Latino community in Virginia and Latin America. This legislation creates a permanent Latino Advisory Commission, appointed by the governor, to be composed of 21 citizen members, of whom at least 15 must be of Latino descent.

"In addition, secretaries of the Commonwealth, Commerce and Trade, Education, Health and Human Resources, Public Safety and Transportation, or their designees, also will serve on the panel. This bill takes effect Oct. 15, 2005, when the executive order creating the current Latino Advisory Board expires. I am pleased to sign this measure into law."

Pleased, are you? I'll bet the farm on that one.

In the intervening time, let's all join hands with Gov. Mollycoddle and form a big circle and share a few Coca-Cola drinks while teaching the world to sing English as a Second Language in perfect harmony.

No doubt, Mollycoddle has more political folly to add to his legacy and for future references, please don't include Fulton's steam engine in that historical lesson.

After all, the voter-rich Democratic enclaves of Northern Virginia are home to 80 percent of the state's illegal immigrants. The service-based workforce of the high-tech corridors of Interstate 66 and the Dulles access road have been supplemented with illegal immigrants for some time - and those service-job rich environments don't pay health benefits to illegal immigrants.

There should not be any exceptions for wealthy conservatives or liberals. It's against the law and businesses that are harboring illegal-alien criminals should be arrested for breaking federal immigration laws.

Warner's liberal cronies and conservative business professionals are nothing more than modern-day version of New York's sweatshop circuit. Citizens need a wakeup call because taxes are higher only because Northern Virginia businesses don't pay the benefits to the illegal immigrants and the state government is picking up the bill and doing the dirty work at the expense of the taxpayers.

The Washington Times wrote, "Virginia estimates it spends $56 million per year on illegal aliens in schools."

And Virginia bureaucrats and Virginia Education Association-educrats are continuing to encourage, advocate and promote illegal immigrant diversity teaching processes within our Virginia school system - with their social-engineering voodoo, which comes in the form of multicultural and bilingual teaching methods.

Ask the Governor: Just how much would the Virginia spending budget shrink if most of the illegal aliens were deported to their country of origin? And is your duty not to uphold the laws of the Commonwealth?

Gov. Mollycoddle has pandered to the advocates of illegal immigration and their leftist agendas in the Democratic Party. He has invoked legislative and political silence on those who dare to disagree.

Tin soldier-acting Warner could learn a lesson from another Democrat, the former Colorado governor Richard D. Lamm, who said, "Just as a house needs a door, a nation needs a border."

For the moment, it's time to stop talking about a lockbox for Virginia's transportation budget …

Because it's time to put a lockbox on the Commonwealth's open-door policies when dealing with illegal immigration.

The heck with Warner, the Blue Dog is a fan of a real American patriot, Prince William County resident Jim McDonald. The Washington Post recently interviewed him as he stood outside the county courthouse with a handmade sign that read, "ACLU and Illegals Please Go Home."

Jim McDonald was at the courthouse to greet illegal immigrants arrested and who were on trial for loitering in front of a local 7-Eleven. Mr. McDonald is part of the Virginia Coalition Against Terrorism to focus on the Commonwealth's challenges and is targeting the illegal immigrants of Northern Virginia.

Go, Jim, go.