A story in the Richmond Times-Dispatch this weekend highlighted the dozens of bills that have been introduced in the General Assembly to combat illegal immigration.

Many of these bills are directed toward punishing businesses that have hired illegal workers. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said in last week’s State of the Commonwealth speech that he doesn’t want the state to appear xenophobic as it tries to deal with issues related to illegal immigration.

Last year, many bills concerning illegal immigration passed the House of Delegates but failed in the Senate, which was then controlled by moderate Republicans. Democrats now control the Senate, but illegal immigration bills are likely to get some more attention this year. Localities across the state have been studying the effect of illegal immigrants in their communities. Many have passed resolutions asking local staff to study whether they can reduce services.

Following are just some of the bills that target employers that the Times-Dispatch listed this weekend. We will follow these closely in the blog.

HB90: Allows state regulatory boards to suspend or revoke the license, certificate or registration of a business if it has been convicted of knowingly hiring someone who is not eligible to work in the U.S.

HB 227: Requires applicants for a contractor’s license to submit a statement promising they will verify employee’s status and not hire an illegal immigrant knowingly.

HB 926: Allows regulatory boards to discipline businesses convicted of hiring undocumented workers.
five patrons; Makes conviction for violating the law by employing ineligible workers grounds for disciplinary action by a regulatory board.

HB928: Several measures, including requirement that public bodies and their contractors work with the Department of Homeland Security to participate in federal work authorization program. Requires state agencies offering services to verify the recipient’s immigration status.

HB 1047: $100 fine each day for a business that employs an undocumented worker.

HB 1249: Allows employee who is replaced by an ineligible worker grounds to take action against former employer.

HB 1298: A set of punishments and fines for businesses employing workers they cannot provide documents for showing their are eligible to work in the U.S.

HJ164: Directs the Virginia Commission on Immigration to study how many licensed contractors in the state hire ineligible employees and their effect on the work force and the economy.

SB90: Prohibits employers from hiring workers before their legal eligibility has been verified.

SB385: Requires applicants for local business licenses to certify they are not employing undocumented workers.

SB426: Same as HB.