Thread: PWC: Contractors, retirees now in county residency mix

Contractors, retirees now in county residency mix


By Cheryl Chumley

Published: September 11, 2008

From business owner to retiree—when it comes to enforcing Prince William's proof of legal residency policies, all are treated equally.

In June, a new section was added to the county's purchasing regulations requiring contractors to agree "that its employment of any person without legal status may subject it to termination of this contract for default," according to a presentation to the Board of County Supervisors on Tuesday.

County attorney Ross Horton said violators face the prospect of canceled contracts, as well as federal punishment.

In July, county staff began to check certain business owners for legal status. As part of the Business, Professional and Occupational License application process, those filing as sole proprietorships or partnerships must now present documents to prove residency. The approved list is posted on the county's Web site. Corporations such as Wal-Mart are exempted.

"To date, no one has been turned away because of legal status," said Melissa Peacor, assistant county executive. We will begin renewals of BPOLs this spring and that's when a number of business licenses will have to come in … and it's going to be a period of very busy activity for the business license staff."

The policy, which Supervisor Michael May, R-Occoquan, clarified, comes on the heels of a Commonwealth's Attorney General opinion that businesses ought to be subject to such checks, impacts an estimated 6,000 sole proprietors and partnerships. And chamber of commerce members have expressed concerns, Supervisor Martin Nohe, R-Coles, said. Business owners want to know the process won't become unduly onerous and time-consuming, and have asked for a streamlined alternative, he explained.

Also in July, elderly participants of the real estate tax relief program were required to show proof of legal residency.

"We've mailed letters to the 3,500 current participants in the program … sent information on how they can obtain a birth certification, because sometimes it's difficult for this age group. And 1,950, or 55 percent, have already proved legal status," Peacor said.

Staffers, meanwhile, have visited the homes of 20 others experiencing difficulty with the new mandate, she added. And somewhat expectedly, not all are embracing the new mandate with open arms.

"We do realize this is a more fragile group," Peacor said, explaining that a number of complaints have been fielded.

But the elderly aren't the only ones complaining about issues related to the county's immigration enforcement policy. On Sept. 8, vice chair John Stirrup, R-Gainesville, sent a multi-page letter to County Executive Craig Gerhart, demanding response to dozens of questions.

The majority centered on the communication department's interactions with a member of the media who has made public statements—he figuratively removed his reporter's hat to speak during one citizens' time portion of a board meeting months ago, for example—denouncing the county's illegal immigration measure, and who has since made several video productions highlighting the impact of this policy on people.

Stirrup's letter questioned whether staff had crossed the line from professional to personal, and breached public trust. Gerhart, in a Sept. 9 reply, pointed out the majority of assistance provided this media member came by way of Freedom of Information Act requirements, and that any individual requesting the same would have been treated similarly.

Stirrup raised other issues, too. For example, he asked why staff sometimes used personal AOL e-mail accounts for correspondence related to work, and why this same media official was allowed to reserve a conference room at the McCoart Administrative Building to conduct interviews for one of his films.

In a summary letter that is followed by a 10-page point-by-point address of all Stirrup's questions, Gerhart refutes all allegations of impropriety.

"I believe that the behavior of county staff has been upstanding and forthright," Gerhart wrote. "County staff continually strives to provide our residents and media with outstanding customer service. As you know, our county staff follows a vision and values that have continually resulted in customer service that strives to be second to none."

Questions about the county's immigration policy have stretched far and beyond Prince William borders, however. Just about the time this behind-scenes drama was wrapping, Chairman Corey Stewart, R-at large, was speaking before a Republican gathering of House Judiciary subcommittee members on Capitol Hill on the impact of crimes committed by illegal immigrants.

"One year ago, I shared with you the problems that had led Prince William County to stand among few localities in the country to take action on illegal immigration," according to Stewart's written testimony, presented Thursday morning at the Rayburn House Office Building. "Our emergency rooms were choked with a surge of uninsured illegal aliens. Unauthorized day laborer sites were popping up outside convenience stores and in parking lots all over the county, even in quiet neighborhoods. And illegal boarding houses blighted communities up and down the county."

It's due to enforcement of the county's illegal immigration policy that those statistics have begun trending the opposite way, he said. Stewart further recapped some of those views in a late-morning radio interview with Rush Limbaugh, who was also broadcasting his syndicated program from Washington, D.C., on Thursday.

"There's been 500 fewer births to uninsured patients at both Prince William hospitals," with each birth costing about $10,000, Stewart told Limbaugh, in response to questions about the positive impacts from the resolution. "We know a lot of those people are simply moving up to Fairfax County and now it's the taxpayers [there] picking up the bill."

To Limbaugh and listeners, Stewart also decried the seeming failure of Democrats to seize upon the seriousness of illegal immigration crime, and said that from Capitol Hill to Prince William County, the loudest voices protesting enforcement policies were those from the staunchly pro-immigrant camp.

"We don't hear enough from the victims' families," he said. "All the Democrats want to hear about on the Hill is from poor illegal immigrants. They don't want to hear about the victims."

Staff writer Cheryl Chumley can be reached at 703-670-1907.

http://www.insidenova.com/isn/news/loca ... mix/21063/

Also in July, elderly participants of the real estate tax relief program were required to show proof of legal residency.

"We've mailed letters to the 3,500 current participants in the program … sent information on how they can obtain a birth certification, because sometimes it's difficult for this age group. And 1,950, or 55 percent, have already proved legal status," Peacor said.

They have no problem doing this, they should have no problem requiring anyone who receives ANY social services to provide proof. The welfare checks are not made out to minors, so the parents of all US born children should need to prove legal residency. Why profile senior citizens only? That's discrimination. Housing assistance? Lease is not in minor child's name, parents show proof of legal residency. No proof? No money. no nada. Hello ICE?

I am a "Senior Citizen" and I have no problem proving my citizenship....will have to do it when I apply for Social Security in a few months....so....what's the problem???????????????