On Loudoun Board, Growth May Trump Immigration Issues

Prince William went further than Loudoun. Beginning next year, residents who cannot prove legal residency won't be able to get business licenses or be eligible for several other county services. Police will have the authority to check the immigration status of anyone who breaks the law, even for minor offenses including speeding or shoplifting. Civil-liberties groups have begun filing legal challenges over the precedent-setting policies.

Loudoun supervisors took a more measured approach partly because of concern about lawsuits. Supervisor James Burton (I-Blue Ridge), who was reelected, said he is not willing to spend taxpayer money on legal challenges.

"We can tighten restrictions on overcrowding and blight, and beyond that, whatever people want to do, most of it has been challenged in courts," he said. "It doesn't make sense to keep beating your head against the wall and making grand speeches when there's very little you can do."

Some anti-illegal immigrant activists have said that Loudoun's board lacked political will.

"It's been a disappointment, frankly, that we don't have the Prince William Board of Supervisors here," said Joe Budzinski, a spokesman for Help Save Loudoun, an activist group that supports tougher measures against illegal immigrants.

The new supervisors would be remiss if they dropped illegal immigration altogether, said leaders in Prince William and neighboring Herndon.

Voters are demanding local action, and there is much work to be done, said Dennis D. Husch, vice mayor of Herndon, who was elected last year on a pledge to shut down a hiring center for day-laborers. The center closed in September.

"Wait until their e-mail accounts fill up and their phones begin to ring," he said of Loudoun supervisors.

"Elected officials can't just ignore the citizens. If they do, it's going to get real ugly in a hurry."

A recent Washington Post poll showed that six in 10 Virginians said that illegal immigration is a problem where they live, and several political strategists have predicted that it will become a major issue in next year's presidential election.

Incoming Loudoun supervisors have said they will not abandon the effort against illegal immigration. Residential crowding remains a problem in aging neighborhoods, they said, and they might try to take action against businesses that hire illegal immigrants.

"If my constituents ask me to make it a priority, it will be," said Andrea McGimsey (D), who will represent the Potomac district.

For at least one activist who has opposed the measures, the battle is over.

Mukit Hossain, who has been a vocal opponent of anti-illegal immigrant measures in the region, said he plans to move from Sterling to somewhere in Prince William to take his activism there.

"I think the impact of [Loudoun's policies] will be greatly diminished now," he said. "It's time to move the fight to Prince William."