Thread: Prince William seeing effects of immigrant crackdown

Prince William seeing effects of immigrant crackdown
By David Sherfinski
Examiner Staff Writer 12/4/08

Many illegal immigrants have left Prince William County or slid out of public view in the 17 months since the county’s high-profile crackdown on them was proposed.
Student enrollment in the public schools’ English as a Second Language program has dropped by several hundred students over the past year while increasing in surrounding jurisdictions, one sign that immigrants have left.

Fewer day laborers congregate outside the 7-Eleven on the corner of Route 1 and Prince William Parkway in Woodbridge. About 10 of them gathered on a Tuesday afternoon several weeks ago looking for work, to no avail.

Police drive past, paying little attention to the group. In March, police officers cruising the area would have had the right to stop and ask for the men’s residency status if the officers had reason to believe they were in the country illegally.

The county changed its law against illegal immigrants July 1, requiring police to question the residency status only of those arrested, though officers still retain discretion to inquire into immigration status before making an arrest.

But the change is little comfort to many Hispanics, immigration lawyer Ricky Malik said.

“I think people here maybe changed and adapted — who they trust,â€

[b]“Since housing construction has slowed to stoppedâ€