Prince William postpones vote on immigration measures (after Gov. Kaine slashes police funding)

URL Source: http://www.examiner.com/a-968293~Prince_William_postpones_vote_on_immigration_measures.html
Published: Oct 4, 2007
Author: SARAH KARUSH
Post Date: 2007-10-04 05:18:00 by out damned spot-

MANASSAS, Va. (Map, News) - Prince William County's planned illegal immigration crackdown was hampered by state budget cuts, with the board of supervisors on Tuesday delaying any real action until it gets a fuller picture of the county's finances.

Supervisors unanimously approved a new police department policy under which officers could check the immigration status of those detained even for minor infractions. But they held off on authorizing an extra $2.5 million a year needed to implement it.

The board also heard a report recommending that some county services - including housing assistance, drug rehabilitation for jail inmates and senior programs - be denied to illegal immigrants.

The supervisors put both the funding and the service restrictions on their agenda for Oct. 16 - after a scheduled retreat at which the board is to receive an update on the county's financial picture.

"I'm confident that the rest of the board is going to be supportive on the 16th," said chairman Corey A. Stewart, a Republican and a strong supporter of the measures. "We may not get a unanimous vote but I'm pretty confident that I'm going to get all six Republicans on the (eight-member) board."

Most of the supervisors, including Stewart, are up for re-election in November.

Tuesday's meeting came a day after Gov. Timothy M. Kaine announced $300 million in budget cuts, including some state aid to local governments. Prince William County expects to lose $575,000 in state aid for its police department.

Some supervisors cited those cuts and said they needed more information on the county's financial picture before voting to fund the police policy, which officials said would require seven full-time employees to implement.

Hilda M. Barg, a Democrat who represents Woodbridge, said she supported the police policy in general but had deep reservations about denying services.

"I think you saw us today saying, we're not so interested in this human services stuff, but we're interested in addressing the hardened criminals," she said after the vote.

Federal law already denies undocumented immigrants many services provided at the local level, such as food stamps. Others, including public education, must be provided regardless of status.

Prince William County thrust itself into the immigration debate in July, joining other local governments frustrated with a lack of federal action. Supervisors passed a resolution that instructed county staff to look into what services could be legally denied to illegal immigrants and directed the police chief to develop a policy for stepped-up immigration enforcement.

Neighboring Loudoun County followed suit with a similar resolution and on Tuesday passed a range of anti-illegal immigration measures, though none that go as far as those Prince William has been considering.

Critics say the proposals are a racist reaction to profound demographic changes. According to census estimates released last month, Prince William's Hispanic population has more than doubled since 2000, to nearly 70,000 last year. Non-Hispanic whites account for a little more than half of the population, down from about two-thirds in 2000.

Hundreds of mostly Hispanic immigrants and immigration advocates showed up for Tuesday's meeting, as did a smaller contingent of anti-illegal immigration activists.

The activist group Mexicans Without Borders delivered thousands of signed petitions asking supervisors to rescind the resolution.

"The spirit of the resolution is divisive," said Ricardo Juarez Nava, one of the group's leaders. "I ask you to see the human condition of all those people."

Jayson Compton, a member of the anti-illegal immigration group Help Save Manassas, said the county's tight finances should not stop it from implementing the new policies. He suggested that illegal immigration would cost the county more in the long run.

"If we do nothing, we're going to be buried in red ink, in budget shortfalls," he told the board.

Sounds like you folks in virginia better get ready for Cinco de Mayo and all them other good ole spanish beer bust holidays. Oh thats right everyday is a beer bust holiday in Mexican culture.