Friday
Jun182010
Virginia Politician Urging State To Adopt Arizona Immigration Law
Friday, June 18, 2010 at 12:29PM
By Linn Grubbstrom
Talk Radio News Service
The top elected official of a Northern Virginia county located less than 40 miles from the nation's capital says he wants his state to pass a very similar version of the anti-illegal immigration law passed earlier this year in Arizona.
Corey Stewart, the chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors, says he will lobby Virginia lawmakers this year in an effort to persuade them to pass a measure that would increase the power of state and local law enforcement to capture, detain and deport illegal immigrants. The plan Stewart is pushing would also outlaw day laborer centers, places where illegals are known to gather.
Stewart, who earned national notoriety in 2007 for instituting a county-wide crackdown on illegals, told Talk Radio News Service that adopting the Arizona bill would drastically decrease Virginia's crime rate.
"The first two years after the crackdown on illegal immigration in Prince William we had a 37 % drop in the violent crime rate," he said. "Based upon that experience we believe that we would have similar results in the rest of the Commonwealth of Virginia."
In fact, of the 2,000 people arrested last year for major crimes -- including violence -- in Prince William County, only 121 were found to be living in the state illegally. That figure represents a significant decline from the level recorded before Stewart initiated the crackdown two years ago.
However, on a statewide level, over 17% of those arrested in Virginia last year for violent crime offenses were found to be non-residents: A frightening statistic in Stewart's view.
"We need to bring the rule of law to all of Virginia," he told the Washington Post in an interview this week.
Though Arizona has faced mounting threats of economic boycotts by cities and businesses in neighboring states, Stewart insists that enacting such a bill in Virginia would have minimal negative impacts on the state's economy.
"Businesses do even better, because when you crack down on illegal immigration, the quality of life improves and the crime rate goes down and that's the type of environment that businesses want to move to."
Stewart said he expects to encounter push-back on the effort from federal officials, but added that a lack of federal enforcement of the nation's immigration laws has created a need for action on the local level.
"In their typical political fashion I would expect that the Obama administration will try to intimidate the Commonwealth of Virginia, try to sue the Commonwealth of Virginia. But we have to do what is right precisely because the federal government has refused to do anything about illegal immigration."
Talk Radio News Service
The top elected official of a Northern Virginia county located less than 40 miles from the nation's capital says he wants his state to pass a very similar version of the anti-illegal immigration law passed earlier this year in Arizona.
Corey Stewart, the chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors, says he will lobby Virginia lawmakers this year in an effort to persuade them to pass a measure that would increase the power of state and local law enforcement to capture, detain and deport illegal immigrants. The plan Stewart is pushing would also outlaw day laborer centers, places where illegals are known to gather.
Stewart, who earned national notoriety in 2007 for instituting a county-wide crackdown on illegals, told Talk Radio News Service that adopting the Arizona bill would drastically decrease Virginia's crime rate.
"The first two years after the crackdown on illegal immigration in Prince William we had a 37 % drop in the violent crime rate," he said. "Based upon that experience we believe that we would have similar results in the rest of the Commonwealth of Virginia."
In fact, of the 2,000 people arrested last year for major crimes -- including violence -- in Prince William County, only 121 were found to be living in the state illegally. That figure represents a significant decline from the level recorded before Stewart initiated the crackdown two years ago.
However, on a statewide level, over 17% of those arrested in Virginia last year for violent crime offenses were found to be non-residents: A frightening statistic in Stewart's view.
"We need to bring the rule of law to all of Virginia," he told the Washington Post in an interview this week.
Though Arizona has faced mounting threats of economic boycotts by cities and businesses in neighboring states, Stewart insists that enacting such a bill in Virginia would have minimal negative impacts on the state's economy.
"Businesses do even better, because when you crack down on illegal immigration, the quality of life improves and the crime rate goes down and that's the type of environment that businesses want to move to."
Stewart said he expects to encounter push-back on the effort from federal officials, but added that a lack of federal enforcement of the nation's immigration laws has created a need for action on the local level.
"In their typical political fashion I would expect that the Obama administration will try to intimidate the Commonwealth of Virginia, try to sue the Commonwealth of Virginia. But we have to do what is right precisely because the federal government has refused to do anything about illegal immigration."
Immigration Reform Bill Gaining Support In The House
Talk Radio News Service
“We have reached the milestone,” said Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) on Thursday. At a press conference surrounded by immigrants and other representatives, Gutierrez announced that the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity (CIR ASAP) bill he introduced has surpassed 100 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives.
“The legislative clock is ticking,” stressed Gutierrez. “We know people are getting deported at the highest rate in modern history.”
Guttierez said the need for Congress to pass his plan is critical, especially with only one month to go before many provisions within the recently signed Arizona immigration law start to take effect. He called the Arizona law a call to action, and said a pragmatic solution must be found for what he referred to as a “broken system.” The Illinois Democrat added that he wants something passed before Congress recesses in August.
Gutierrez's bill would require illegal immigrants to register with the government, go through a background check, and learn English before becoming an American citizen.
With respect to a possible federal lawsuit against Arizona’s recent immigration law, Guitierrez said the legal action is not meant to fuel anger towards Arizona’s attempt at controlling its border, but rather to protect the constitutional rights that are entitled to everyone in the country. Guitierrez said the law is not a solution and could set a dangerous precedent if fully implemented in Arizona and other states.
“We simply cannot expect to get rid of a population about the size of Ohio, or their 4 million American citizen children,” said Gutierrez, referring to the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States.