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Meeting on illegal immigration tonight


Liz Mitchell
Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 6, 2006


A Bealeton man wants local residents to address illegal immigration beyond keyboard activism or kitchen conversations.

Scott Schreiber, 33, is a member of the Minutemen Civil Defense Corps Virginia Chapter. The group, dedicated to preventing illegal crossings of the U.S. border, documents and reports incidents to law enforcement and anyone who will listen.

At the urging of the chapter’s state director George Taplin, Schreiber is forming a Culpeper division and hosting the first meeting tonight at the VFW Post 2524 on Sperryville Pike.

“It’s a conversation that almost everybody is having about what is going on with illegal immigration,” Schreiber said.

"Nobody really knows what to do or what action they can take. And that is what we are trying to start - the ability for people to take direct responsibility for their community. That is our interest.”

Schreiber encourages everyone to come to the meeting and says there are ways locally that people can affect the national discussion regarding the illegal immigrant population and how to deal with it.

“Go to your leaders, say we want to pass laws saying: if you rent to an illegal, you lose your rental; if you employ an illegal, you can lose your business or at least be fined heavily,” Schreiber said. “Those are the things we want in place.”

The Minutemen group also opposes day laborer sites. Schreiber says documenting contractors hiring day laborers and publishing it could put pressure on those who hire illegal immigrants. He also said if people notice drinking, littering or fighting at the day laborer sites, they should notify police.

“We don’t want to confront individuals and treat them differently,” he said. “We point out there is a problem. We want to create awareness and action. When police show up to deal with the problems, we want them to check immigration status.”

Culpeper County Sheriff H. Lee Hart says his office makes every effort possible to determine if criminals are illegal and notify local prosecutors and federal authorities.

The Immigration and Nationality Act, Section 287 (g), allows the federal government to enter into agreements with state and local law enforcement agencies that would permit designated officers to perform immigration law enforcement functions provided they receive appropriate training.

Currently if local law enforcement believes a suspected criminal is illegal, officers or the commonwealth attorney’s office contacts Immigrations Customs Enforcement. If that suspected criminal is convicted and is in fact illegal, he or she is turned over to ICE for deportation after the sentence is served.

Hart said he plans to send two of his deputies to receive ICE training in January.

According to ICE spokesman Dean Boyd, ICE agents are authorized to arrest undocumented individuals. The training would allow local law enforcement officers to take suspected illegal immigrants into custody only as a result of the officer’s daily duties.

Schreiber said immigrants, as a demographic, have the greatest interest in actively participating in the national discussion and local efforts.

“A majority of illegal immigrants are Hispanic,” Schreiber said. “(Legal Hispanic immigrants) have the greatest interest in supporting this because they came here honorably. They stood up; they wanted to be part of this American system. They paid their dues. They worked. They tend to be employed at the lower end jobs and they are going to be the first to be replaced. This is not an issue against them; this is an issue for them.”

Martin Bernal, owner of Mexican grocery El Nopal and member of the Hispanic Committee of Culpeper, said a small group of committee members would attend tonight’s meeting.

“They’ve got the right to be here and we respect them,” Bernal said. “This is a free country.”

Bernal said it’s important for the Minutemen group to know that Hispanics are not the only illegal immigrants in the United States.

“They are going to try to hit the Hispanics, the Mexicans,” he said. “We are just looking for work, for a better life for our families. There are many legal people who are here in Culpeper.”

Regardless of the Minutemen group’s goal, Bernal said he and others would be there to listen.

“They can do what they want,” he said. “We will be over there to listen to their ideas. Everybody is free to go.”