RICHMOND, Va. — Illegal immigrants would be barred from attending Virginia's public colleges and universities, and those already in school would be expelled under legislation that passed the House on Thursday.

The measure, approved on a 71-29 vote with strong GOP support, now heads to the Senate.

Gov. Mark R. Warner, a Democrat, vetoed legislation last year that would have forced illegal and undocumented immigrants living in Virginia to pay out-of-state tuition.

Warner spokeswoman Ellen Qualls said the governor opposes this year's bill, but she did not say he would veto it.

Delegate John S. Reid, the bill's Republican sponsor, said on the floor Thursday that it was unfair for a person in the country legally to lose a position at college to someone who was not.

In response to a suggestion by Democratic Delegate Adam Ebbin that the measure would punish children whose parents brought them to the United States when they were young, Reid said, "These parents have not done their job."

A 1982 Supreme Court ruling requires states to accept illegal immigrants in public elementary and secondary schools but does not mention colleges.