Thousands of White Patriot Leaders with the headline on illegal immigration were distributed in Prince William county and Culpeper County VA making news on Washington D.C. TV and local papers.

Will illegal-immigrant restrictions take root in more Va. localities?

Thursday, Jul 12, 2007 - 12:01 AM

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By KIRAN KRISHNAMURTHY
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

A newly approved measure by Prince William County that would identify illegal immigrants for deportation and deny services to undocumented residents could prompt other Virginia localities to take similar actions, people on both sides of the debate say.

"We're in effect rolling up the red carpet," said Dan Arnold, vice president of Help Save Manassas, a grass-roots group that successfully pushed for Tuesday's passage by the Prince William Board of Supervisors. "We think it's a growing movement in Virginia."

The board voted unanimously to direct local police to check the legal status of people in custody if an officer has probable cause to suspect someone has violated an immigration law. The measure also seeks to find ways for the county to lawfully deny public services to illegal immigrants. The police chief and other county department heads will report to the board, in about 60 days, on how they can comply with the directive -- for example, what constitutes probable cause to ask about legal status.

Tim Freilich, legal director of the Virginia Justice Center in Charlottesville, predicted yesterday, "We'll see more county officials acting as vigilantes."

Chesterfield Board of Supervisors Chairman Kelly E. Miller, who prompted a county analysis of local services provided to illegal residents, said Prince William's actions are the types of things that Chesterfield might consider but that he is awaiting the county staff's report.

"I don't know until we get back the report what kind of options exist for us legally, but I want to aggressively go at it. I think we need to be aggressive in attempting to identify these illegals," he said. "I don't want to be crazy about this thing. I don't want to be out on a witch hunt. But at the same time, we need to . . . get more aggressive in identifying illegals, get a handle on what our tax resources are being used for and limit them to those who are legally entitled."

Chesterfield officials say a report is expected in the next two weeks.

Prince William County estimates they spent $3 million on services for illegal immigrants last year, most of which was attributed to housing undocumented residents at the local jail. The county said it could not account for the amount spent on educating undocumented children or the children of illegal immigrants, nor could it calculate the economic benefit that illegal immigrants contribute.

Kent Willis, executive director of the ACLU's Virginia chapter, and others will be monitoring the implementation of the measures. He noted the board scaled back the original proposal, which would have required officers to check the residency status of anyone who breaks any law and also would have allowed residents to sue the county for providing services to illegal immigrants. The approved resolution does not deny access to public education.

Willis said the American Civil Liberties Union is analyzing whether the resolution is constitutional and that he will monitor a board work session two months from now in which implementation of the resolution will be discussed. He said he's particularly concerned about how police would identify illegal immigrants.

Teresita Jacinto, education coordinator for the Woodbridge Workers Committee, questions how a police officer decides that someone who runs a red light might also be an illegal immigrant, without race or ethnicity being the basis. "How do you decide that?" she said.

Prince William Supervisor John T. Stirrup Jr., who introduced the measure, said no single nationality or ethnicity will be targeted. "Our problem in the county is not limited to Latinos or Hispanics," he said, also mentioning people from Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe.

Freilich echoed Prince William Police Chief Charlie T. Deane's concern that the measure could hinder community policing efforts because victims and witnesses in immigrant communities may become less willing to report crimes for fear of being deported. "Everyone will be less safe," Freilich said.

Jesus Moreno, a spokesman for the Falls Church-based Hispanic Committee of Virginia, also contended police would increasingly spend time checking identification cards instead of fighting violent crime. "You lose the focus of what the police's job is about," he said.

Arnold, who worries about gang activity in Manassas, dismissed such concerns. "Ultimately, you can throw up a lot of excuses about what should or should not be done. But in the big picture, we have to look out for those here legally."

Freilich said he expects legal immigrants in Prince William would be stopped by police and, at a minimum, be inconvenienced. "One in 10 Virginians was born outside the U.S.," he said. "I certainly don't see a way [the county] can implement this in a way that won't violate the rights of immigrants, regardless of legal status."

Jacinto, who was born in the U.S, added, "There are many of us here who have papers and don't carry them."

Stirrup said "much has been made of that, but if you're here legally, you have nothing to worry about."

The ACLU's Willis said other localities may wait to see if Prince William is sued before pursuing similar resolutions.

But Culpeper Town Councilman Steve Jenkins, who has led a push to crack down on illegal immigration in Culpeper, said he expects residents will soon begin pushing harder for action. Jenkins, who wants to form a coalition of local governments on the issue, also said yesterday he has heard interest from elected officials in Chesterfield and Shenandoah counties.

Freilich said he believes the Prince William resolution is "political grandstanding," but that such efforts are the result of Congress' failure to agree on immigration reform last year and again last month.

Arnold, though on the other side of the debate, agreed that federal inaction has incited local action. "We're mad as hell, and we're not going to take it anymore."

Contact Kiran Krishnamurthy (540) 371-4792 or kkrishnamurthy@timesdispatch.com.

Staff writer Julian Walker contributed to this report.
http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news/state.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2007-07-12-0126.html