Culpeper looks at immigrant trespass
September 12, 2007 12:35 am
BY DONNIE JOHNSTON

Should the Culpeper town police use a shopping mall owner's power of attorney to restrict the trespassing of illegal immigrants in his parking lot?

Town attorney Bob Bendall said it could legally be done and last night the Culpeper Town Council last night took a step in that direction.

The length of that step, however, didn't satisfy Councilman Steve Jenkins, an outspoken opponent of illegal immigrants.

What the Town Council considered doing (no action was taken) was restricting use of the power of attorney to that period of time between midnight and 5 a.m. when all stores in the Culpeper Town Mall are closed.

Enforcement would not begin until the Town Mall property manager puts up new signs explaining the hours of trespass.

Jenkins said restricting trespass actions to between midnight and 5 a.m. would have no affect on Hispanic day laborers who show up after 5 a.m. seeking employment.

"I'm really getting worn out with this," Jenkins said. "I'm worried more about the rights of people who go there to shop and not those who trespass."

Jenkins said that since there are already signs up at the shopping center that prohibit trespassing between 11 p.m. and 8 a.m., the laws should be enforced, especially since the property manager has given police the authorization to do so. "We have an agreement with the property owner and we're obligated to fulfill our end of it," Jenkins said. "I have difficulty in understanding why we wouldn't do that."

Bendall explained that later in the morning, people might have more reason to be there. Between midnight and 5 a.m., however, "anyone who could not demonstrate a clear purpose for being on the property" would be subject to a warning or arrest.

The town attorney also said that Commonwealth's Attorney Gary Close had made it clear that he would not prosecute trespass violations that were issued before midnight and after 5 a.m. and then only after the proper signs were posted.


Councilman Jim Risner, a former law enforcement officer, said that even given the power-of-attorney parameters, he felt it would be hard to get a trespass conviction unless the person was specifically named in a stay-away order. "This is a way not to get your officers sued," Bendall said, explaining that there was a civil rights issue at stake.

Moments later Jenkins hit another brick wall when his motion to join with Culpeper County in a coalition to explore the illegal immigration problem failed for lack of a second.

Vice-Chairman Billy Yowell, conducting the meeting in the absence of Mayor Pranas Rimeikis, said town residents were already members of the county and should be included in the recently passed county resolution.

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