The House of Delegates passed a bill to ban illegal immigrants from attending public colleges and universities.

Republican Delegate Christopher Peace's bill passed 73-26 on Monday and now heads to the Democrat-controlled Senate, where efforts to crack down on illegal immigrants rarely succeed.

Supporters said illegal immigrants shouldn't be allowed to attend a higher education institution supported by tax dollars. They argued that the student still could attend a private college.

While not all of Virginia's 15 public universities and 23 community colleges check students' legal status, they all charge those known to be undocumented out-of-state tuition.

A proposal to allow in-state tuition for some illegal immigrants is expected to be debated in the Senate this week.