Thread: VA: Prince William chairman says Virginia should follow Ariz

Prince William chairman says Virginia should follow Arizona on immigration
June 17, 2010

Prince William Board of County Supervisors Chairman Corey A. Stewart is calling on Virginia legislators to follow in Arizona's footsteps and pass a law to crack down on illegal immigration throughout the Commonwealth.

Dubbing it the "Virginia Rule of Law Campaign," Stewart said he will spend the rest of the year lobbying the General Assembly to pass legislation that enhances police officials' power to capture, detain and deport illegal aliens; outlaws illegal day laboring; and creates specific Virginia penalties for illegal immigrants.

"We need to bring the rule of law to all of Virginia," Stewart said. "As long as the federal government shows no interest in securing the border and no interest in internal enforcement to promote self-deportation, then states and localities will have to pick up the slack."

Stewart said he is still working on a final draft of his legislation plan, but he wants it to direct Virginia law enforcement officials to ascertain, in any lawful contact, the legal status of an individual. Another key point for the bill, he said, would be to prohibit jurisdictions from calling themselves sanctuaries for illegal immigrants.

"I'm doing this now as this will be the last General Assembly session before the 2011 elections," Stewart said, noting he is still trying to find legislators to introduce his bill. "My intention is to use the election to pressure the General Assembly into action."

Prince William has received national attention for its crackdown on illegal immigration. The county's law, which was passed in 2007 and modified in 2008, requires that police officers inquire into the immigration status of all people who are arrested on suspicion of violating a state or local law.

"This would go further than what Prince William did in 2007 and follow in the footsteps of what Arizona did," Stewart said. "There is now a state model to follow. The iron is hot. The vast majority of the population support the law, and I'm confident a large majority of Virginians would support similar legislation."

The widely criticized Arizona law, signed in April, allows police wide latitude to check the residency status of anyone who they have "reasonable suspicion" is an illegal immigrant.

Stewart said the county's law was a success -- that illegal immigrants fled and that overall crime dropped to a 15-year low in 2009. The county's 2009 crime report said that of the roughly 2,000 people arrested last year in connection with major crimes, 121 were determined to be illegal immigrants. Of the 12,254 people arrested for other offenses, including drunken driving, prostitution and fraud, 774 lacked legal status. A more comprehensive illegal immigration report on the county's efforts is due out this year.

Stewart has created a Facebook page called The Virginia Rule of Law Campaign, which now has more than 60 supporters. He has also started an online petition for supporters to sign.

"I'm doing this as a citizen of the Commonwealth of Virginia, a father and a husband," he said. "I look forward to working with a lot of leaders from around Virginia ... to get this done."
-Jennifer Buske

http://voices.washingtonpost.com

I hope this bill gets passed as soon as possible. The illegals are overrunning Virginia. He has my support.

Prince William Co. Chairman Proposes AZ Immigration Law To Va.
Surae Chinn 2 hrs ago
Comments (2)

WOODBRIDGE, Va. (WUSA) Prince William County already has the strictest immigration law in the region, and now Board of Supervisor Chairman Corey Stewart wants a stronger crackdown.

He's proposing to bring the controversial Arizona immigration law to the entire Commonwealth of Virginia.

Stewart says, "Violent crime dropped 38% two years following the adoption of this policy."

He says it's hard to attribute the drop because of illegal immigrants but says, "It's not a coincidence. There's clearly a connection with what we did will illegal immigration in 2007.

But police statistics show there's been a decline in violent crime long before the county's resolution, and the group 'Mexicans Without Borders, says only a small percentage was committed by illegal immigrants.

Nancy Lyall is with the organizations and says, "Reduction in crime has happened every year for the last 10 years."

Chairman Stewarts' proposal aims to do three things: it would make it a state crime if you are an illegal immigrant, require law enforcement to check legal status on those they detain or stop for a minor traffic violation, and he wants to outlaw all day labor sites.

You can see David Sullivan checks into a day labor site on most days in Woodbridge. He competes for jobs with illegal immigrants.

Sullivan says, "I think everyone has a chance no matter if they're legal or illegal. They are just like me trying to get work."

But others are not so understanding.

Jennifer Lohse supports Stewarts proposal and says, "I think things have gotten out of hand. I think a lot more can be done to control illegal immigration."

Stewart says, "The measures are aimed at illegal immigrants and day labor sites are a source of friction in the community."

As a legal citizen, Sullivan says he'll continue to be out looking for work whether they ban day labor sites.

Stewart says 100 people have signed his petition that was made public wednesday. He plans the present his proposal to lawmakers next week.

The White House says they are filing a lawsuit challenging Arizona's immigration law.



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