Va. Coalition To Focus On Illegal Immigration

By Nick Miroff
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 5, 2007

County and city leaders from several Virginia jurisdictions have formed a group to push for tougher measures against illegal immigrants, the latest sign that local governments in the state will look for ways to act while immigration reform remains stalled in Congress.

The Coalition on Illegal Aliens will consider the impact of illegal immigrants on residential overcrowding, crime, public services and other quality-of-life concerns while developing proposals for state and local laws. The coalition will also look at measures designed to punish employees who hire illegal immigrants and landlords who house them.

Leaders from across the state hope to capitalize on the momentum created by policies targeting illegal immigrants in Prince William and Loudoun counties and elsewhere, though it's unclear whether the policies will prove to be a deterrent.

The coalition is the third multi-jurisdictional body in the state created this year to address the issue. The others are the Virginia Commission on Immigration and the Alien Criminal Enforcement Task Force.

But leaders of the new coalition -- some from areas where illegal immigrants are admittedly scarce -- said their effort will be different. "Those groups were put together by the governor and the General Assembly," said Herndon Mayor Stephen J. DeBenedittis, who was picked to be the coalition's chairman at a meeting last week in Culpeper. "This is a group of local governments who are joining together to try to make our voices stronger."

Coalition members said DeBenedittis was chosen because of his experience in the successful fight to shut down Herndon's day-laborer center. The coalition's other leader, Shenandoah County Board of Supervisors Chairman Dick Neese (R), will help steer the group as its vice chairman, though his jurisdiction has few illegal immigrants.

"Really, I don't know that there's an issue here right now, but this is one way to flush it out," he said.

Neese said his constituents have kept a wary eye on events in Prince William, where supervisors voted in October to enact some of the toughest policies against illegal immigrants in the state. "We're really concerned [illegal immigration] will be moving further west," he said. "If Prince William cracks down, it may move to Shenandoah County."

Martin Bernal, a community leader in Culpeper, said it has seemed lately as though the whole Latino community has been under attack. "Things have really picked up since Prince William came out with that plan," he said. "They are blaming us for everything that's going wrong in this country and with the economy. We'll see what the coalition proposes, and we'll stand up for ourselves."

About two dozen localities have expressed interest in joining the coalition, but only about half that many have sent representatives to its first two meetings, according to Culpeper Mayor Pranas A. Rimeikis. Although it has elected officers, the group lacks a committed membership list, he said.

"The coalition is in its infancy, and I think it's still trying to figure out what its purpose is," said Rimeikis, who also sits on the 20-member Virginia Commission on Immigration, formed this year by the General Assembly and Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D).

Rimeikis questioned the value of input from localities with few illegal immigrants. "If you don't have experience with the issue, I don't know how you can endorse some of these proposals," he said. The group would best be served, he said, by comparing experiences.

But others who have attended coalition meetings said they are tired of talking about the issue and want something done. "People want action," said F. Steve Jenkins, the Culpeper Town Council member who proposed creating the coalition last spring.

Jenkins said the group is not interested in debating the pros and cons of immigration and makes a clear distinction between legal "immigrants" and "aliens" -- what they say is the correct term for illegal immigrants. They welcome the former but not the latter. Jenkins's fellow council members did not appoint him as a representative, so he attends as an observer.

Along with DeBenedittis, outgoing Loudoun Supervisor Bruce E. Tulloch (R-Potomac) was the only other elected official from Northern Virginia to attend the meeting last week. Prince William Board of County Supervisors Chairman Corey A. Stewart (R) said the county has not joined because of concerns about future lawsuits over its plan, scheduled to go into effect early next year, that increases local enforcement and denies certain public services to illegal immigrants.

Though several of its participants are Republicans, the coalition has no party affiliation, and it includes police officials and county administrators as well as elected representatives.

Coalition members voted during that session to create committees for safety, law enforcement and public services, each with the goal of identifying the impact of illegal immigration and recommending ways to discourage it. Zoning violations, hiring practices and crime will be examined, members said.

"There are a lot of impacts, and some things we can't address," DeBenedittis said. "But the longer the federal government continues to avoid the issue, the more impact it has on local governments."

Culpeper County Administrator Frank Bossio said that the coalition is looking to expand and has a lot of work to do before it can make policy recommendations.

"There's an awful lot of rhetoric on both sides of the issue," he said. "Sometimes there are facts there, sometimes there's just emotion. Our goal is to act -- but to act with information, data and forethought."

With no plans to meet this month, Bossio said the coalition will not have time to develop legislative proposals for the General Assembly session, which begins Jan. 9.