Thread: Prince Wm, VA: Illegal aliens' services study done

Illegal aliens' services study done
By KEITH WALKER
kwalker@potomacnews.com
Saturday, September 29, 2007


The three-month study to determine which county services can be denied to illegal immigrants is done.

The Prince William Board of County Supervisors will hear a report on the results of the study Tuesday.

The report shows which services the county already restricts, which services it cannot restrict and which services the county could restrict but probably shouldn't because of cost, health and inconvenience to legal residents.

Staff will recommend that the supervisors pass a resolution that restricts illegal immigrants from participating in substance abuse programs in the Prince William-Manassas regional jail, rental and mortgage assistance to the homeless, services to allow elderly and disabled to remain in their homes, adult day care, the elderly-disabled tax relief program, Bluebird Bus Tours, tax exemptions for renovating residential property, in-home care for the aged and programs at the county's senior centers.

Prince William Chairman Corey A. Stewart, R-at large, said he appreciated the work that went into the report.

"I'm absolutely pleased that county staff did a thorough job," Stewart said. "They spent a lot of time - every department going through every service - to see what could be cut. I'm convinced that they've identified some things they're going to be able to cut off to illegal immigrants."

The county already restricts voter registration, concealed weapons permits, all police licensing, food stamps, temporary assistance for needy families, Medicaid funding for all human services, burial assistance, employment services, state and local hospitalization services, mental health vocational services, Section 8 housing, home ownership assistance loans and transitional housing. Staff already verifies legal status before rendering the services.

One of the services that would probably cost too much to restrict would be electronic government services, since all residents would have to come to county offices in person to conduct county business, said Liz Bahrns, Prince William County spokeswoman.

The county processes 250,000 electronic transactions annually and that equates to $10 million in business, Bahrns said.

Restricting services at libraries would also cost too much.

Libraries would have to be remodeled and the county would have to hire more people so that legal status could be checked at every library, said County Executive Craig Gerhart.

Additionally, all library registrations would have to be done in person, Gerhart said.

Other services that probably shouldn't be restricted because of health and safety concerns include fire and rescue and crime prevention services.

Substance abuse programs for pregnant women and minors at schools, services to the seriously mentally ill and the mentally retarded and the homeless shelter should not be restricted, the report states.

Restricting access to recreation centers, pools, water parks, golf courses, batting cages and boating would also be cost prohibitive since all registration activities would have to be done in person, facilities would have to be remodeled and extra staff would have to be hired to verify legal status.

It would also be impractical to police county parks to verify legal status, the report showed.

Stewart agreed that if it costs too much, some services shouldn't be restricted.

"Obviously if it would cost us more to restrict the service than the savings that we would retrieve, then it clearly wouldn't make any sense to do that," Stewart said.

Restricting illegal immigrants from using the county landfill would also be impractical because it would be bad for the community if people started dumping their trash somewhere other than the landfill, Gerhart said.

The county doesn't require business owners who gross less than $100,000 annually to have business licenses. The resolution would change county code to require licenses for such businesses, Bahrns said.

Stewart said he hopes the board supports the change in county code.

"My feeling is that that would be a good way to crack down on illegal immigrants who are operating without a license," he said.

Federal, state or county laws prevent restricting emergency medical services, sheriff services such as warrants and evictions, medical care to inmates at the jail, juvenile court services and emergency service calls.

Services for the aged that are funded all or in part with money from the Older Americans Act, health department services, child protective services, foster care, at-risk youth services and juvenile detention services cannot be restricted.

Human rights investigations, Freedom of Information Act requests and county publications are also among the services that cannot be restricted.

If the supervisors vote to pass the resolution, the police department would be able to hire six detectives and a crime analyst to form the Criminal Alien Unit, which would work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to enforce immigration law.


www.manassasjm.com

Prince William lawmakers to vote on immigration policy


Associated Press - October 2, 2007 6:45 AM ET

MANASSAS, Va. (AP) - Prince William County supervisors are set to vote today on which county services could be denied to illegal immigrants and on a plan for broader immigration checks by police.

The supervisors adopted the outline of the policy earlier this year and county staffers have spent recent months working out the specifics, which will be the subject of today's vote. Supporters of the plans believe the federal government hasn't done enough to address immigration issues.

Prince William's Human Rights Commission is critical of the policy, warning that it would be expensive to taxpayers and could lead to racial discrimination and lawsuits. The report also predicts that driving out or deporting illegal immigrants would also shrink the county's tax base.

Supervisors chairman Corey Stewart says the Human Rights Commission was supposed to recommend how to implement the policy, not criticize it. He calls their report useless.

http://www.wdbj7.com/Global/story.asp?S=7155826

Prince William postpones vote on immigration measures
By SARAH KARUSH

Associated Press Writer

October 2, 2007

MANASSAS, Va.

Prince William County's planned illegal immigration crackdown was hampered by state budget cuts, with the board of supervisors on Tuesday delaying any real action until it gets a fuller picture of the county's finances.

Supervisors unanimously approved a new police department policy under which officers could check the immigration status of those detained even for minor infractions. But they held off on authorizing an extra $2.5 million a year needed to implement it.

The board also heard a report recommending that some county services--including housing assistance, drug rehabilitation for jail inmates and senior programs--be denied to illegal immigrants.

The supervisors put both the funding and the service restrictions on their agenda for Oct. 16--after a scheduled retreat at which the board is to receive an update on the county's financial picture.

"I'm confident that the rest of the board is going to be supportive on the 16th," said chairman Corey A. Stewart, a Republican and a strong supporter of the measures. "We may not get a unanimous vote but I'm pretty confident that I'm going to get all six Republicans on the (eight-member) board."

Most of the supervisors, including Stewart, are up for re-election in November.

Tuesday's meeting came a day after Gov. Timothy M. Kaine announced $300 million in budget cuts, including some state aid to local governments. Prince William County expects to lose $575,000 in state aid for its police department.

Some supervisors cited those cuts and said they needed more information on the county's financial picture before voting to fund the police policy, which officials said would require seven full-time employees to implement.

Hilda M. Barg, a Democrat who represents Woodbridge, said she supported the police policy in general but had deep reservations about denying services.

"I think you saw us today saying, we're not so interested in this human services stuff, but we're interested in addressing the hardened criminals," she said after the vote.

Federal law already denies undocumented immigrants many services provided at the local level, such as food stamps. Others, including public education, must be provided regardless of status.

Prince William County thrust itself into the immigration debate in July, joining other local governments frustrated with a lack of federal action. Supervisors passed a resolution that instructed county staff to look into what services could be legally denied to illegal immigrants and directed the police chief to develop a policy for stepped-up immigration enforcement.

Neighboring Loudoun County followed suit with a similar resolution and on Tuesday passed a range of anti-illegal immigration measures, though none that go as far as those Prince William has been considering.

Critics say the proposals are a racist reaction to profound demographic changes. According to census estimates released last 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.

Hundreds of mostly Hispanic immigrants and immigration advocates showed up for Tuesday's meeting, as did a smaller contingent of anti-illegal immigration activists.

The activist group Mexicans Without Borders delivered thousands of signed petitions asking supervisors to rescind the resolution.

"The spirit of the resolution is divisive," said Ricardo Juarez Nava, one of the group's leaders. "I ask you to see the human condition of all those people."

Jayson Compton, a member of the anti-illegal immigration group Help Save Manassas, said the county's tight finances should not stop it from implementing the new policies. He suggested that illegal immigration would cost the county more in the long run.

"If we do nothing, we're going to be buried in red ink, in budget shortfalls," he told the board.

http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/vi ... 7862.story

Originally Posted by jean

Supervisors unanimously approved a new police department policy under which officers could check the immigration status of those detained even for minor infractions. But they held off on authorizing an extra $2.5 million a year needed to implement it.

PWC won't need to authorize $2.5 million for human services for the illegal aliens. It will be spent with or without authorization - prison beds, hospital care under EMTALA, public education under the 1964 CRA, new prisons, maybe public housing... But it won't cover a year.