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Jasmine Zamora, 17, left, looks out from the door of their apartment as her mother Ines Olivia Martinez, gets a hug from her son Rafael Zamora, 13, at their apartment in Manassas, Va. on Wednesday, July 25, 2007. Martinez moved her family from Mexico to Virginia two years ago and is concerned about measures passed this July by Prince William and Loudoun counties to deny a potentially wide range of public services to illegal immigrants.
MANASSAS, Va. -- Ines Olivia Martinez wonders if her
family will be denied medical care. Even
her mentally disabled 13-year-old son has been
anxiously pointing out police cars amid
fears of a local crackdown on illegal immigrants.
Resolutions to deny a potentially wide range of public services to illegal immigrants have thrust two northern Virginia counties into the nation's immigration debate.
The measures passed in July in Prince William and Loudoun counties join a flurry of recent efforts by local governments nationwide that believe the federal government has not done enough to stop illegal immigration.
But while other jurisdictions have focused largely on landlords and employers who knowingly rent to and hire illegal immigrants, the Virginia resolutions take a more direct approach. The National Association of Counties says the two counties are the first it knows of to pass
measures aimed at denying services.
They probably will not be the last. Officials in several other Virginia counties have said they plan to follow suit, and the sponsor of the Prince William resolution says he has gotten e-mails from all over the country praising his efforts.
The new approach comes as some jurisdictions back off
plans to crack down on landlords and employers following a federal court ruling last month that struck down a law in Hazleton, Pa. The much-copied law would have imposed fines on landlords who rent to illegal immigrants and denied business permits to those who employ them.
The northern Virginia measures are also likely to face legal challenges. The Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund has threatened to sue Prince William County. Other groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, say they fear service
restrictions will result in discrimination, but are waiting to see how the crackdown will be implemented
before taking legal action.
Critics say the
resolutions are a racist reaction to
profound demographic changes in Prince William and Loudoun, two of the fastest-growing counties in the Washington area. Together, the counties account for 8 percent of Virginia's population, with more than 600,000 residents.
According to census estimates released this month, Prince William's Hispanic population has more than doubled since 2000, to nearly 70,000 last year. Non-Hispanic whites account for a little more than half of the population, down from about two-thirds in 2000. In Loudoun, the share of minorities increased from 20 percent to 32 percent.
Proponents
blame illegal immigrants for changing the character of the region,
accusing them of packing too many people into single-family homes and failing to learn English.
"It's reached a boiling point _ or a boil-over point," said Supervisor John T. Stirrup, who sponsored the Prince William measure.
For Martinez _ who has lived in Manassas, in Prince William County, for two years _ the
resentment against illegal immigrants came as a surprise.
"It broke my heart," the 41-year-old Mexico City native said of the measure.
"We were all thinking there would be an amnesty" declared by the federal government.
Although Manassas has a separate government from Prince William County, many immigrants like Martinez do not understand the distinction. Those who do say they are concerned because
work, friends and daily errands take them into Prince William County and because
they fear the city could follow the county's lead.
In Loudoun and Prince William, officials are still studying which public services legally can be withheld and how such restrictions could be implemented.
The resolutions say emergency medical care will not be denied, and federal restrictions already control many other services. For instance, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1982 that children can't be kept out of school on the basis of immigration status, while
food stamps are off-limits to illegal immigrants. [
But only until the AgJobs bill (H.R. 3161) takes effect.
The status of other services, such as
health care for the uninsured, libraries and parks, are less clear-cut.
Critics say
limiting access to facilities would make the counties
feel like police states for everyone who sets foot there.
"Everywhere people step, they have to show their documents and prove their right to be there," said John Trasvina, president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
Prince William County Police Chief Charlie T. Deane has warned that
the crackdown could backfire.
The resolution in his county includes a provision instructing police to investigate the immigration status of anyone they detain if there is probable cause to believe the person is in the country illegally.
Deane said the measure could
diminish immigrants' trust in police and make them reluctant to cooperate as witnesses. He also said
denying recreational services could lead to a rise in the number of young people turning to crime.
Martinez said some of her friends and relatives have moved out of Prince William County because of the measure. Others are gearing up for a fight.
Hispanic activists are planning a weeklong boycott of all nonimmigrant, non-Hispanic businesses in Prince William County beginning Monday and a one-day general labor strike in October.
"We came to better ourselves as human beings because
we also want a better life for our children," said Rocio Martinez-Lopez, 35, Martinez's sister. "People say, `We're going to another state.' I tell them, `No, we have to fight.'"
