Pro-Immigrant Sign Takes Another Hit
Banner Torn in 3rd Attempt to Deface Message to County

By Christy Goodman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, October 11, 2007

The pro-immigrant billboard in Manassas was vandalized.

Again.

The 12-by-40-foot sign that sits on private property at 9500 Liberty St. and faces the Virginia Railway Express station was torn late Saturday or early Sunday.

It was the third attempt to deface the billboard that calls on Prince William County to "stop your racism to Hispanics," according to members of the Woodbridge Workers Committee, a pro-immigrant organization that had a news conference in front of the sign Monday afternoon.

Two partially burned Molotov cocktails were found under the sign a few weeks ago. When the sign was first erected, someone had tried to tear it down, but the property owner, Guadencio Fernandez, repaired it. Several anti-immigrant messages have been left on the property.

"This is a symbol of the racial division this resolution has caused in the county," said Nancy Lyall of the Woodbridge Workers Committee, referring to Prince William's resolution to deny services to illegal immigrants in the community.

As Lyall spoke during the news conference, a man drove by in a maroon minivan, leaned out of his window and yelled, "Go home!"

Fernandez said he is unsure when the sign will be replaced.

"After the new resolution has been passed, we feel fear walking down the street," said Fernandez, who said Spanish-speaking people in the area no longer have rights. He carries his passport to readily prove his status, he said.

Fernandez also said he has no idea who vandalized the sign. The police report is considered inactive, said Manassas City Police Chief John J. Skinner. "There are no leads or suspects to follow up on. We have not received any tips. No one has called to say they found a portion of the banner that was cut or taken away," he said.

Evidence from the Molotov cocktail incident was submitted to the state crime lab for testing, Skinner said.

The Woodbridge Workers Committee and Mexicans Without Borders used the destroyed sign, which they call "the Liberty Wall," as a backdrop to announce Tuesday's work stoppage and protest in the county.