by Adolfo Flores
Marielena Hincapié
Early next year the undocumented community in Prince William County, Va., will walk and drive on eggshells. A resolution passed 7by the County Board of Supervisors Oct. 17 will give police officers the power to check immigration status during traffic stops If they have “probable cause” to do so.
After a 12-hour session during which 375 people addressed the eight-member board on the issue, it voted unanimously to implement provisions allowing local police to enforce immigration laws and further deny undocumented immigrants services.
Reading from notes he had written on three pieces of paper, 11-year-old Jonathan Aldaz, whose head could barely be seen over the podium, said with emotion, “l think all the time that they will deport my family and now I just say no, don’t approve this law,” Many members of the community expressed their concern that the resolution would lead to racial profiling.
The board agreed as part of the resolution to refer to a consulting group or a university after two years to ensure the resolution is fair in that regard.
“We’re not going to be stopping the mother at the grocery store with the baby, we’re not going to be stopping someone who is getting coffee at 7-11 because of their skin color,” Supervisor Hilda M. Barg said moments before the vote. “This is not going to happen.”
Other members of the community expressed satisfaction that the resolution was passed and something was done with regard to undocumented immigration.
“We don’t think of (undocumented people) as anything other than human,” said Maureen Wood, who stayed until the early hours of the morning for the vote, “but still that doesn’t mean you can cross a border and expect people not to be upset by this. Board Chairman Corey Stewart said that through extensive and thorough training the authorities will avoid racial profiling. He said the resolutions are not geared at Latinos, but the undocumented community.
The total cost of implementing the police aspect of the resolution is projected to be $14 million through the course of 5 years. The board agreed to allocate $325,000 for the time being. The chairman said the county will come up with the rest of the funding one way or another.
Seven officers will be trained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to make up a Criminal Alien Unit, six detective positions and one crime analyst position. The other police offi cers will be trained to check for documentation. It will take several months for them to be fully trained.
Another part of the resolution further restricts public services to undocumented immigrants, for example business licenses and services offered at senior citizen center.
President of the grassroots anti-immigrant organization, Help Save Manassas Greg Letiecq said that police have already started to enforce aspects of this resolution. “Tuesday (Oct. 16) Prince William County police offi cers stopped a van with 10 illegal immigrants and turned them over to ICE,” he said.
The Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund has fi led a lawsuit on behalf of the Woodbridge Workers Committee and 21 residents, some of them reportedly undocumented.
It claims the measures are unconstitutional because enforcement of immigration laws is a federal matter. It calls for halting its implementation.
“We feel extremely hurt, but at the same time we are conscious about the fact this was going to happen,” said general coordinator for Mexicans Without Borders Ricardo Juarez. “Now we are going to focus on getting justice through the federal court.”
Hispanic Link.
