Immigrants march to protest Va. county's policies

MANASSAS PARK, Va. —

More than 100 immigrants and their supporters marched through Prince William County on Monday to protest policies they say have torn apart families, caused racial tension and made them fearful of reporting crimes.
With chants in Spanish of "Justice!" and "Stop police brutality," the immigrant advocacy group Mexicans Without Borders demanded that county officials rescind a 2007 resolution that allows county police to enforce federal immigration law and denies some public services to illegal immigrants. They say the policy, which drew national attention, has created strife between Hispanic immigrants and police.

"We're fighting against all the injustices being committed against us," said 34-year-old Adrian Games of Woodbridge as he walked along a sidewalk holding his 6-year-old son's hand.

Games said the march is a way to pressure lawmakers to reconsider policies that he said have caused families to flee and have hurt the local economy.

"This is the start of something we're going to continue until we reach our goal," Games said.

Protesters on Monday also demanded justice for Manassas Park resident Agueda Dominguez, who claimed that earlier this month a police officer beat her during a traffic stop because she's Hispanic and doesn't speak English. Authorities have said that both Dominguez and the officer were injured in the incident, which is under investigation.

"We feel that the Dominguez case is the straw that broke the camel's back," said Nancy Lyall, legal coordinator with Mexicans Without Borders before the march from Manassas Park to the Prince William County courthouse.

Lyall said what happened to Dominguez is directly related to the passage of the resolution in Prince William County.

"That resolution sets the tone ... to look at our immigrant population differently than the rest of the people that reside here," Lyall said.

Prince William is one of a handful of Washington-area counties that has cracked down on illegal immigration in recent years. In Virginia's Loudoun County and Maryland's Frederick County, law enforcement authorities also are trained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to enforce federal immigration law.

And though not as strict, Maryland's Montgomery County — long recognized as welcoming to immigrants — announced this month that it plans to send to ICE the names of every person arrested for violent crimes and for illegally carrying or transporting handguns so their immigration status can be checked.

Monday's demonstration comes a week after small-business owners in Prince William demanded that lawmakers rescind a part of the anti-illegal immigration policy that requires business people to prove they are legal residents of the country.

The county had asked about 4,000 business owners to provide proof of legal residency by March 1 to get their business licenses renewed. Area doctors, architects and others have resisted the effort.