http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local ... 36364.html

Report: Prince William County's crackdown on illegal immigrants went smoothly
By: David Sherfinski
Examiner Staff Writer
November 16, 2010 Prince William County's high-profile crackdown on illegal immigration was smoothly implemented by the county police department and staff, and had few unintended consequences despite falling short of some of its original goals, according to a three-year report on the policy released Tuesday.

The number of illegal immigrants in the county dropped by between 2,000 and 6,000 individuals between 2006 and 2008, though it was unclear to what extent that decrease could be attributed to the policy and how much was due to the sluggish economy, according to the report prepared by the University of Virginia's Center for Survey Research.

The original policy, passed in October 2007, directed police to check the legal status of anyone they arrested if they had probable cause to believe the suspect was in the country illegally. In April 2008, the county's board of supervisors changed it to require police to check the status of everyone arrested.

"I'm pleased that the resolution was changed," said Prince William County Police Chief Charlie Deane, adding that he was "very heartened" by the study.

A major goal of the policy was to improve public safety and reduce crime. Most types of crime, however, were not affected by the policy, the report said, though aggravated assaults declined after the policy announcement in 2007. The study cautioned, though, that the decline could be due to changes in crime reporting methods.

A major concern about the policy was that it would prompt a flood of costly litigation and allegations of racial profiling, but the litigation did not materialize and no lawsuits directly claiming racial profiling have been filed against the county, the report said.

Thomas Guterbock, director of the Center for Survey Research, called the policy a mixed bag.

"It's a mix of results -- mixed results, good results, bad results," said Guterbock. "How you look at it is [going to] depend on where you sit."

Despite the caveats, Prince William County Board Chairman Corey Stewart, who wants to extend county policy statewide, hailed the report as proof of the policy's success.

"I believe that this report confirms what we believed all along, and that is that by enforcing the nation's immigration laws we as a locality can have ... a positive impact in terms of improving the quality of life in the county, bringing down crime and addressing illegal immigration as a whole," he said.

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Sadly, they seem to be coming to my county.