County Turns Back on Immigrants
July 11, 2007 by Joshua Davis
A Virginia county has passed a law to forbid county services to illegals. As if they where doing something good, one county supervisor said “Public schools and emergency services will still be available.” My understanding is that the children going to the public schools would probably have been born on American soil, making then legal citizens.
In similar legislation in the same county, some people want to outlaw the neighborhood ice cream man, and anyone who sells from a vehicle. One citizen said “I don’t know if these people are legal or not.” And for that man I wonder when was the last time he asked a business owner weather they had committed any crimes, for which they had not come before the justice system with.
A quick description of Prince William County might help to better understand the local situation. Many Civil War battles including the battles of Bull Run were fought there, and the County still retains many of it’s southern roots. It used to be primarily rural, but is now part of the outer suburbs of Washington, DC. And lastly Latinos make up 9% of the population, and blacks 18%. After those laws had passed another supervisor said, “Finally we are taking our community back.” Considering Latinos are nowhere near the largest minority there I can only imagine what he really meant.
what is the alternative besides giving them allowing access to public services? ignore them, and hope they leave. i just don’t get it, these people forget that these are families and people with lives. what a racist town.
[Reply]
The problem with illegal immigrants and public services is primarily an issue of budget concerns. As state and local governments are finding themselves more strapped for cash, they’re starting to realize the tremendous burden illegal immigrants can place on the finite amount of resources that are available. At the risk of sounding like a conservative (*gasp*), I don’t understand why some folks seem to feel that we should be providing illegal immigrants with every service under the sun. After all, those folks came here illegally.
Now granted, the children of illegal immigrants are an entirely different story, because if they were inf act born here in America, they’re U.S. citizens and should be entitled to all the rights and privileges that come with citizenship. Ultimately, this story and all the stories like it throughout America just underscore the need for comprehensive immigration reform. I say if those folks who are here illegally want to become citizens, they should be given that opportunity.
[Reply]
Joshua Davis Reply:
July 12th, 2007 at 3:59 pm
fair point, but then it seems like the government is acting more like a corporation, putting the dollar above the person. if it comes to meeting the budget, the county should scale back on services to everyone. after all regardless of legal status, immigrants do also provide benefits to their community, such as sales tax, and additional stimulation of the local economy.
[Reply]
Joshua, I appreciate your point, but why should services be scaled back for everyone simply so that folks who came to the U.S. illegally can benefit from services they really shouldn’t be eligible for? But again, my point in all this is to underscore how critical it is that we have comprehensive immigration reform. Let’s give those folks who are here illegally a chance to earn U.S. citizenship, because ultimately that benefits everyone.
[Reply]
Joshua Davis Reply:
July 13th, 2007 at 12:32 pm
you’re point is valid, but imagine a situation like this. two children born here want to go the county pool. because they’re under thirteen they must have parental supervision. unfortuantly the parents are illegal, so the children can’t visit the pool.
in virgania the wealthiest part is called northern virginia, and they fund most of virginia’s budget. unfortunately when the states budget gets cut so does ours, even though we are funding these other people, who aren’t “fairly” contributing to the system, we still experience service scale downs.
[Reply]
[...] had previously reported on a Virginia County banning services from immigrants, and now the county seat has become a ground [...]