In Virginia, the Harm Of an Anti-Immigrant Bill

A young mother who wants to support her first-grader and get a better-paying job. A man in his late 50s who has diabetes but no access to health care. A 16-year-old day laborer who is hungry and needs winter clothes. These and thousands of others like them are the people who will be most harmed if Virginia enacts House Bill 2937.

Last month, the House of Delegates voted 70 to 29 that no organization receiving state or local funds "shall use those funds to provide benefits or assistance to ineligible persons such as undocumented immigrants." As volunteers with the Woodbridge Workers Committee in Prince William County, we regularly work with members of the immigrant community and know the disastrous effects a cutoff of state money could have for new immigrants who may lack official residency paperwork.

The immigrant population in Prince William has risen significantly in the past five years in response to the need for construction labor. Because no jobs were available back home, many immigrants are here trying to provide for their loved ones. The growing Northern Virginia economy not only thrives on their labor but also would collapse without it.

Current federal immigration policy provides no legal avenue for their presence, so many immigrant workers cross the border without authorization. Most of these people are hardworking and focused on supporting their families. But if this bill becomes law, not only will immigrants suffer but the organizations that try to help them also will be compromised.

Let's look at the lives of some undocumented immigrants:

One gentleman in his late 50s has diabetes and had no access to health care. We referred him to the Family Health Connections mobile clinic of Potomac Hospital, where he was given advice and medicine to correct his failing health. Family Health Connections is funded by public-private partnerships but also receives significant state funding. Under the House bill, this man would have been denied care and probably become seriously ill. He might have ended up in an emergency room with his care ultimately paid for by Virginia taxpayers.

Then there's the young mother with limited income who wanted to support her first-grader's education and get a better-paying job. She found year-around English classes right in her neighborhood through which she could learn to communicate with her child's school, help her child complete assignments and read simple books. She became a committed student, attending class twice a week. Under the House bill, the group that sponsors the classes would have to deny this mother services or risk losing its nonprofit status.

A 16-year-old Totonac Indian with limited Spanish skills recently arrived from his village in Puebla, Mexico. This young man had no winter clothes and hadn't eaten in three days. We referred him to the Hilda Barg Homeless Shelter, where he was fed and given warm clothes. The Hilda Barg center, which currently provides assistance to all without question, plans to discontinue clothing and food distributions if the House bill becomes law. This would be catastrophic for all who count on the shelter for help, not just undocumented immigrants.

Organizations such as Prince William Action in Community Through Service and the Salvation Army are among those that could be affected if the House bill becomes law. Although the Woodbridge Workers Committee is staffed entirely by volunteers and has never sought or received state funding, this bill would directly affect our work. Churches and other not-for-profit community groups that assist us may withdraw their support. Some of these groups themselves operate soup kitchens, participate in clothing drives, provide transportation or housing, or otherwise assist immigrants. Most community service organizations don't have the resources to implement the onerous regulations required by this legislation. Although the bill stipulates that it would affect only people over age 19, it would surely hurt children the most, as their parents would be denied any assistance.

It is scandalous to us that Del. Jackson Miller, who sponsored this bill, and others would be so callous when it comes to hungry children, those with urgent health-care needs and others who are struggling in this brutal winter. This is the opposite of good public policy. We hope the Senate will rise above the House's cynical political opportunism and soundly reject HB 2937.

Nancy Lyall is legal coordinator for the Woodbridge Workers Committee. Teresita Jacinto is the committee's education coordinator.