Manassas to ask immigration status
October 29, 2008 - 8:27am

David Sherfinski
Examiner Staff Writer
Manassas police officers will begin checking the residency status of everyone arrested starting Dec. 1, the city announced Tuesday.

The policy is intended to bring the department's immigration laws into "lockstep" with Prince William County's recently revised law, officials said.

Under the policy, Manassas police officers will ask about the immigration status of anyone arrested for violation of a state or local law. However, as in Prince William, police will be able to ask about a person's residency before arrest if the officer thinks the person may be in the country illegally.

"I think the [City] Council is certainly in favor of working towards ... effective illegal-immigration policy," Manassas Mayor Hal Parrish said. "It will have a fair effect and a positive effect on illegal criminal immigrants."

The policy is part of a series of illegal-immigration enforcement initiatives implemented by the Manassas City Council over the past two years, which include checking the immigration status of inmates at the jail, working on a gang task force and working with federal agents to transport illegal immigrants to federal detention centers.

Police Chief John Skinner presented the plan to the City Council on Monday night.

"[The policy] is very similar - as [Skinner] described it, 'lockstep in line' with what's happening [in] Prince William County," Parrish said. In June, Prince William revised its original immigration policy, which required officers to check the residency status of suspected criminals they had probable cause to believe were in the country illegally. The revised law - which required officers to check the immigration status of anyone arrested and held in jail - went into effect July 1.

Prince William County Board of Supervisors Chairman Corey Stewart, R-at large, called the announcement "great news."

"Clearly, Manassas and [Prince William] County are like Siamese twins," he said. "Everything we do is reflected there, and vice versa.

"For the sake of consistency and the fact that we share a jail, it's a good thing," he continued, adding that allowing the two police departments and officers to operate under the same rules would result in more efficient enforcement of immigration laws.

All Manassas police officers will be trained on the new policy and procedures next month.


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