Thread: Topic of Immigration Displays a Knack for Migrating Into Oth

Topic of Immigration Displays a Knack for Migrating Into Other Areas

By Kristen Mack
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, September 28, 2008; PW03



Even the routine has become politicized in Prince William County.

The recent appointment of a vocal critic of illegal immigration to a panel that will craft the county's human services policy has become a conversation about the crackdown, intolerance and freedom of speech.

Robert L. Duecaster, a lawyer and leader of Help Save Manassas, was approved to sit on the strategic goals task force by a split vote of the Board of County Supervisors.

Normally, appointments take place with little notice or discussion. The board makes hundreds of appointments each year, with up to 700 residents serving on boards, committees and commissions at a given time. Yet a group of residents spoke against Duecaster's appointment before the vote and later demanded board members publicly explain their decision.

Supervisor W.S. Covington III was the only one to take them up on their request. Covington addressed the appointment without mentioning Duecaster by name or his vote in favor of the nomination.

"I am very disquieted over the recent public discourse over whether or not a citizen is qualified to serve as an appointee of this body on behalf of Prince William County based solely upon a transcript of words, whether written or spoken," Covington (R-Brentsville) said at last week's board meeting before giving a brief history lesson on freedom of speech.

"A forum in which to discuss ideas, however radically perceived by opposing viewpoints, is also guaranteed by our U.S. Constitution."

When people with opposing viewpoints come to the table for dialogue, change takes place, he said, adding that it is not in his "purview to quash that potential growth."

The board's eight appointments to the task force also include former supervisor Hilda M. Barg, who gained the moniker "human services supervisor," and Supervisor Martin E. Nohe's wife, Kris Nohe, who is a court-appointed special advocate for children.

Some residents have suggested that guidelines be established to determine qualifications to serve, rather than deferring to the judgment of supervisors.

In a later interview, Covington said he regretted that Duecaster's nomination process had become personalized.

"He wouldn't have been my choice, but I don't think anyone proved he was so outrageous that he shouldn't have served on an advisory committee," Covington said. "I've never seen my vote as being supportive of his agenda or ideas."

Duecaster has referred to illegal immigrants as the "scourge that's plaguing neighborhoods" and an "invasion of this country."

"Fear does exist throughout the illegal community. It's overdue," he said at a board meeting this year. "The resolution hasn't put fear into the illegal community. Their own act of illegally entering this country and staying here illegally is the source of their fear."

Duecaster, 58, was nominated by Supervisor John T. Stirrup Jr. (R-Gainesville) to serve on the human services strategic goals task force. Each supervisor appoints a resident of his or her district to serve on one of four task forces, which are charged with "composing the community outcomes and strategies," according to a resolution the board adopted. The strategic goals will guide policy and budget decisions for four years.

Task force members have six weeks to do their work. In the meantime, several supervisors have said they find it troublesome that almost every policy decision the board makes has been drowned out by immigration talk.

The board's next mission will be moving on to the "next big thing, without having [illegal immigration] become a part of the conversation," said Nohe (R-Coles).

The topic's pervasiveness was almost inevitable this past year, as the board embarked on its hallmark illegal immigration enforcement. It was an addition to the budget, and the numbers kept changing based on how the board implemented it. The policy that has been in effect since July requires officers to run the name of everyone arrested through a federal database to determine residency status.

Illegal immigration is likely to be less of a focal point during this year's budget cycle, as the county faces revenue shortfalls attributed to the housing crisis.

"We keep revisiting this issue, but we've got a lot of other problems to fix," said board Chairman Corey A. Stewart (R-At Large). "The illegal immigration policy is in place, and it's working. My view is: Let's move on."

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