I missed this story when it first took place, but it appears that the Culpeper County board of supervisors has extended an invitation to nine Virginia counties, three towns and two cities to join a “coalition” of jurisdictions dedicated to confronting illegal immigration. The municipalities will brainstorm and then submit recommendations for legislation to the General Assembly, reports Dan Telvock in the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star.
The news update is that Spotsylvania County is the first jurisdiction accepting the invitation to join, which it did along with passing a resolution to recognize English as the county’s official language. (The measure is purely symbolic because English is already the official state language.)
The town of Culpeper has declined to join the coalition, reports the Culpeper Star Exponent, but council did consider a measure that would restrict illegal immigrants from trespssing on the parking lot of a local mall. Meanwhile, the town of Leesburg has deferred action, adopting a wait-and-see attitude, according to the Loudoun Times-Mirror.
In related matters, the Winchester City Council yesterday adopted a policy statement regarding illegal immigrants, asking federal officials to “step up” and address the problem. According to the Winchester Star, the statement includes phrases such as “the ever-growing segment of illegal Hispanic immigrants is at the heart of many of the city’s biggest problems” and “many illegal aliens engage in criminal activity.”
The cost of instructing non-English-speaking students emerged as a major issue. “I think we’re prepared to handle that burden,” said council President Charles T. Gaynor, “but the aspect we find most detestable is that we’re required to educate them to standards, and at the same success rate, as English-speaking students, and if we do not, we’re criticized by the same people.”
In other developments, Corey Stewart, chairman of the Prince William County board of supervisors, testified before a Congressional subcommittee yesterday on illegal immigration. According to the Manassas Journal Messenger, he said he wants wants to be able to arrest people on immigration charges if police determine they’re here illegally during traffic stops which don’t necessarily call for an arrest. “This isn’t about going out and hunting illegal immigrants,” Stewart said.
Stewart also asked Congress to pass laws that would allow local authorities to fine landlords who rent to illegal immigrants and to fine employers who hire illegal immigrants.
The anti-illegal backlash appears to be strongest along the fringe of the Washington New Urban Region. Rightly or wrongly, concern about illegal immigration runs deep in these mostly Republican-leaning communities. When GOP legislators introduced a raft of legislation aimed at illegal immigrants, they were not trying to “distract” the public from the poorly conceived Abuser Fees they sponsored effect this year, as some commenters on this blog have argued, they were responding to a grass roots movement.
The wave of legal and illegal immigration, the changing demographic make-up of Virginia, the strain placed on public services, the political backlash among whites and the increased assertiveness of Hispanic groups is arguably the most significant story of 2007 in Virginia — well, the second most important, after my bread and butter, transportation and land use. The Mainstream Media has been reporting on the anti-illegal backlash on an episodic basis, but all we have gotten so far is fragmented images and sound bites. These issues are too important to be resolved in an atmosphere of ignorance and emotion.