It’s one ball and one strike on the immigration front. The State Crime Commission has wisely backed away from pushing a 1,000 person jail exclusively for illegal immigrants. Yet supervisors in Prince William County have unanimously approved a county crackdown of what they see as the big wave of illegal immigration.
Kudos to the SCC. The jail idea was a looney throw-back to some of Virginia’s social atrocities ranging from Massive Resistance to the eugenics movement. Officials apparently realized that the need may not really be there given the highly squishy nature of how many illegals are really here.
Darts to Prince William. Their acts will spark racial profiling and will send a very unwelcoming message to all recent immigrants, whether they are properly documented or not. That is, of course, if the board’s decision survives legal challenges. Handling immigrants is, after all, the federal government’s job.
The PWC board really needs a refresher course in the American way. They need to learn about the American traditions of welcoming newcomers and fair play. The U.S. was built in large part by immigrants, save for contributions by Native Americans. If you have traveled abroad, as I have, you sense a special respect for the U.S. because it has welcomed the poor, downtrodden, etc. This has been the overall history, despite such missteps as the anti-Catholic Know-Nothing movement, anti-Semitism and anti-Asian movements of the Far West.
Other counties such as Loudoun that have seen an influx of foreign-born residents are watching closely to see what will happen in Prince William. The yeah-hoos might be happy, but PWC will get a black eye as needed foreign-born workers here legally shun PWC and ones already there shut down their businesses. Look for massive county legal bills, especially after one cop too many stops a driver because he looks dark-skinned or somehow “un-American.”
That brings up something personal. I once worked in the Soviet Union as a U.S. news correspondent. When I drove anywhere the police constantly were waving me over because my license plates identified me as an American. Legally, they could hold me for up to three hours for DWA (“Driving While American”). After that, they’d have to charge me with something real. And I had all the official accreditations I needed.
What makes the PWC act especially shortsighted is that the world’s economy is more global than ever. Some of the brightest minds creating wealth in the New Flat World are from Mumbai or San Salvador and not merely Manassas. If I were an executive of a major foreign corporation looking for a North American headquarters ( such as, maybe, Volkswagen), would I choose Prince William? Maybe not any more, since I wouldn’t want my native born company officials and employees being rousted by local cops and bureaucrats all the time. I’d have too many other choices of places where we’d be more welcome.
Peter Galuszka