Thread: VA-Chesterfield sets cost of illegal immigrants PW County

Chesterfield sets cost of illegal immigrants
By JULIAN WALKER and JUAN ANTONIA LIZAMA
Media General News Service
Saturday, August 18, 2007


Illegal immigrants cost Chesterfield an estimated $1.35 million in fiscal 2006, according to a report issued Thursday by the county.

The report comes more than a year after county supervisors asked for an analysis on the issue of illegal immigrants and how much the government spends on them. An initial report released last August did not include estimated costs for county government to provide services to that community.

The new nine-page document indicates that much of those costs are from county police, the courts and jail, and health and social service agencies.

But the report notes there isn't much Chesterfield can do to prevent spending those tax dollars.

"These costs are for informational purposes only in that the county would be legally prohibited from withholding the services noted, regardless of the cost," the report reads.

At this point, it remains unclear how the Board of Supervisors will use data in the report.

"The bottom line is we still have very limited information," Midlothian Supervisor Donald D. Sowder said Thursday. "We don't really have a fix on what the county expends and the cost to the taxpayer in terms of illegal immigrants."

Supervisor Chairman Kelly E. Miller was one of the people who made the initial request for the analysis.

When reached Thursday, he had not yet reviewed the report, but he has acknowledged that federal and state laws may limit what Chesterfield can do to block services to illegal immigrants.

The numbers in the report do not include the cost to educate children of undocumented residents in county schools; that information was not requested. Providing public education is required by law, regardless of legal status in this country.

Chesterfield estimates a cost of $1.345 million on issues related to illegal immigrants during fiscal 2006, which began July 1, 2005.

In addition to the $1.35 million, the report estimates that Chesterfield's illegal immigrants incurred another $409,000 in unpaid emergency room visits in 2006.
The report contains several options the county can pursue to address the issue of illegal immigrants, such as tweaking the zoning code to prevent residential crowding or requiring businesses to comply with immigration laws.

Some steps the county has already taken include applying for federal funds to reimburse some costs associated with housing illegal immigrants in local jails, and having local law enforcement officials provide to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement a daily list of jail inmates suspected of being illegal immigrants.

Clover Hill Supervisor Arthur S. Warren said that true immigration-law reform by federal and state government will help resolve some of the legal questions raised by the report.

"I think the fact that it's getting some publicity, and that a number of localities are looking at local solutions, would indicate there needs to be some uniformity at the state and federal level to bring about consistent policy that would make sense for the entire nation and state" he said.

Chesterfield isn't the only locality in the state to address these issues.

John T. Stirrup, the Prince William County supervisor who proposed denying some services to undocumented residents, said Thursday that he is encouraged to see other localities in Virginia follow suit.

"I never anticipated it would become a movement and snowball like this," he said, adding he hopes local actions will force state and federal officials to act.

Not everyone shares that sentiment.

Cristina M. Rebeil, an attorney with the Virginia Poverty Law Center, said the Chesterfield study is troubling and leaves her with unanswered questions.

"How did they get that data? How were these numbers arrived [at]?" she said. "How can you tell who is undocumented and who is not? There's no definition of what is undocumented in this whole document."

Localities have the right to worry about costs not being reimbursed, she added, but the study doesn't consider illegal immigrants' contributions to the county.

"If they're not including benefits, it's not a real study, it's not a complete study. It's not telling the community what is really going on," Rebeil said.

Chesterfield-based attorney Paul Fantl, said the study could fuel fears within the Hispanic community, whose members already feel unwelcome.

"People who are victims of crime don't call police because they are afraid of being deported," he said. "There's a feeling that there's an anti-Latino vibe that's continuing by Chesterfield's investigation of how much illegal aliens is costing the government."

Julian Walker and Juan Antonio Lizama write for Media General's Richmond Times-Dispatch. Times-Dispatch staff writer Kiran Krishnamurthy contributed to this report.

People who are victims of crime don't call police because they are afraid of being deported," he said. "There's a feeling that there's an anti-Latino vibe that's continuing by Chesterfield's investigation of how much illegal aliens is costing the government."

That's because criminals don't rat each other out. Pot + Kettle

"People who are victims of crime don't call police because they are afraid of being deported,"

The citizens and LEGAL immigrants are "people" also....and they are "victims of crime." They would "LOVE" to be able to call police and have the "criminals" deported.

Unfortunately, citizens and LEGAL immigrants have no rights in this country.

Duplicate Post

http://www.alipac.us./modules.php?name= ... ama#449175