Virginia tries to deny benefits to illegals

Washington Times:

A new Virginia law that bars illegal aliens from receiving state-funded benefits goes into effect tomorrow.
The law restricts anybody without a Social Security number from receiving Medicaid, temporary assistance for needy families, and help from several other state and local programs.
Supporters say the measure could save the state millions.
"A lot of us were saying, instead of raising taxes, why don't we start prioritizing where we're spending our existing money," said Delegate David B. Albo, Fairfax Republican, who sponsored the bill. "One of the things we found was the state was not checking for legal presence for Medicaid."
Activists who oppose the new law say it duplicates other state and federal statutes that already block illegal aliens from receiving government benefits. For example, federal law prohibits immigrants without green cards or work visas from receiving food stamps and assistance from similar programs.

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Court cases require that children of aliens cannot be barred from school and other cases have required medical treatment. What is needed is a requirement that when these services are accessed that those who are here in violation of immigration laws should be turned over to imigration authorities for deportation. If this were done on a regular and consistent basis there would be no need for a law that denies benefits, because there would be no applications by people who are in the country illegally.