Thread: Va. county prepares tough immigration measures

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07/05/2007: Va. county prepares tough immigration measures

By Nick Miroff
The Washington Post

WASHINGTON — Prince William County, Va., is moving to enact what legal specialists say are some of the toughest measures in the nation targeting illegal immigrants, including a provision that would direct police to check the residency status of anyone detained for breaking the law — whether shoplifting, speeding or riding a bicycle without a helmet.

The measures would also compel county schools and agencies — including libraries, medical clinics, swimming pools and summer camps — to verify the immigration status of anyone who wants to use services in Virginia’s second-largest county. Courts have upheld the right of undocumented immigrants to a public education, raising the possibility of a legal challenge.

Although similar efforts to create inhospitable conditions for illegal immigrants have been attempted recently in Hazleton, Pa., Farmers Branch, Texas, and Valley Park, Mo., the Prince William resolution appears to be unique, specialists say. And with federal immigration reform stalled in Congress, officials across the country are increasingly likely to experiment with restrictions that test legal boundaries and push for a greater role for local police in immigration enforcement.

Other Northern Virginia towns such as Manassas, Herndon and Culpeper have considered or adopted laws aimed at illegal immigrants, but none have been as extensive as the Prince William proposals. The county Board of Supervisors blames illegal immigrants for crime, spiraling school costs, overcrowded housing and cultural behaviors that they say undermine their constituents’ quality of life.

“Citizens will no longer accept that our hands are tied and that responsibility lies with the federal government,â€

Hope it passes, but you can almost hear the aclu, laraza, and other open-border supporters fighting over who files a lawsuit first!!!

The ACLU will put this in the shredder.

Resolution on Illegal Immigration

Friday, July 6, 2007; A04

Here are excerpts from the resolution that the Prince William Board of County Supervisors is scheduled to consider Tuesday:

· The board "has determined that illegal immigration is causing economic hardship and lawlessness" and that "illegal immigration may be encouraged by public agencies within the county by failing to verify immigration status as a condition of providing public services."


· Under the resolution, "county police officers shall inquire into the citizenship or immigration status of any person detained for a violation of a state law or municipal ordinance, regardless of the person's national origin, ethnicity or race where such inquiry does not expand the duration of the detention."

"In all such cases where a person indicates that he or she is not a citizen or national of the United States, the police department shall verify whether or not the person is lawfully present in the United States. . . .

"If the person is verified to be unlawfully present in the United States, the police department shall cooperate with any request by federal immigration authorities to detain the alien or transfer the alien to the custody of the federal government."


· No county employee may be prohibited from "sending, receiving or maintaining" information about the immigration status of any person or exchanging such information with any federal, state or local government for the purpose of determining eligibility for "any federal, state or local public benefit, service or license which is restricted . . . to persons who are not United States citizens or non-qualified aliens."

SOURCE: Supervisor John T. Stirrup Jr. (R-Gainesville)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 845_pf.htm

Illegal alien law could be nation's toughest
County set to pass plan denying services, requiring police to check status

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Posted: July 6, 2007
7:05 p.m. Eastern



© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

A Virginia county is considering possibly the nation's toughest local measures to stop illegal immigration, including a requirement that police check residency status of anyone detained for breaking the law, no matter how small the infraction.

Prince William County, the state's second largest, also wants schools and agencies, including medical clinics and swimming pools, to verify the legal status of people who want to use their services, the Washington Post reports.

The paper said a resolution to be voted on the county Board of Supervisors Tuesday could prompt legal challenges as courts have upheld the right of illegal immigrants to a public education.

As WND reported, dozens of towns have followed the path of Hazelton, Pa., which passed an ordinance one year ago to deter housing owners from renting to illegals. But analysts say the Prince William resolution appears to be unique, because it packages so many measures into one.

Already a number of towns have followed Hazelton's lead, including Farmers Branch, Texas; Valley Park, Mo.; and Riverside, N.J., which passed a measure fining landlords $1,000 per day for renting to illegals and removing business licenses from employers who hire illegals.

Opponents have filed lawsuits insisting the new laws usurp federal authority. The Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, which challenged Hazelton in court, said four communities had passed similar measures and another 17 were considering them.

On the state level, legislatures have considered more than 550 pieces of immigration-related legislation. In Georgia, a massive immigration reform package passed one year ago sanctioned employers who hire illegals and anyone who offers them access to public services. Colorado's legislature later passed similar measures.

As WND reported, the Prince William County town of Manassas has a grassroots group trying to raise awareness of the detriments of illegal immigration and lobby for enforcement and tougher laws.

The county's board says the problems illegal immigrants have caused include crime, overcrowded housing and a spike in school costs, the Post reported.

"Citizens will no longer accept that our hands are tied and that responsibility lies with the federal government," said Supervisor John T. Stirrup Jr., a Republican, who proposed the resolution last month. "They want action."

Stirrup's resolution says county agencies might be fueling the problem "by failing to verify immigration status as a condition of providing public services."

Most of the eight supervisors, who say constituents are flooding county offices with messages of support, have indicated they plan to vote for the resolution Tuesday.

The resolution does not stipulate how residency status would be verified, but supervisors told the Post a valid driver's license or state-issued identification would be sufficient. Anyone determined to be in the country illegally would be handed off to federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.

Stirrup says the aim of the registration is to make sure illegals are not given social services, including education.

"If they're here illegally, we have no responsibility to educate them," he told the Post.

Any emergency medical care would be given to illegals, he said, but they must be immediately reported to federal immigration authorities.

Kris Kobach, a law professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and a former immigration adviser to former U.S. Attorney General John D. Ashcroft, noted the resolution has an exceptional provision that would give legal residents "writ of mandamus" powers. The provision would allow residents to sue Prince William County, he told the Post, if they suspect any of its agencies are not denying services to illegals and reporting violators.

Muzaffar Chishti, director of the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute's office at the New York University law school, charged the proposal is the closest thing he's seen to "encouraging vigilante action."

"Clearly, this is inciting people," he told the Post.

He finds the police officers' ability to check residence status of everyone they stop the most "extreme" aspect of the proposal, insisting it is unconstitutional.


http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/artic ... E_ID=56555