A vocal critical of illegal immigration was appointed to a Prince William County panel on human services Tuesday, despite outrage among residents.
The Prince William Board of County Supervisors voted 5-3 to appoint Robert Duecaster, the secretary of Help Save Manassas, an anti-illegal immigration group, to the county’s Human Services Strategic Goals task force.
He was nominated by John Stirrup, R-Gainesville. Duecaster drafted the county’s original crackdown on illegal immigrants, which was weakened last summer because it included wording that would have denied illegal immigrants access to public education in violation of rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Duecaster, 58, a lawyer, said that when he spoke of exhorting county residents to sharpen their pitchforks and shovels while discussing the immigration issue, it was a metaphor and was “certainly not meant to be taken literally.”
Frank Principi, D-Woodbridge, John Jenkins, D-Neabsco, and Maureen Caddigan, R-Dumfries, opposed the appointment.
“In this case, his reputation precedes him … and I am very uncomfortable with his comments,” Principi said.
Residents argued that his appointment could present a potential conflict of interest.
The task force is charged with establishing funding and partnerships to assist families in crisis.
“The real scandal is we’ve got an extremist, nativist group dictating public policy,” said Elena Schlossberg, the founder of the pro-immigration blog antibvbl.net.
“When history judges you, where do you want to be seen?” “I’m so tired of this,” she added. “Mr. Duecaster is just a symptom of a larger [crisis] in this county.”
She also said the county has spent $11 million on its crackdown, which has netted 1.6 percent of arrests since March, according to Police Chief Charlie Deane.
Eric Byler, a local filmmaker documenting the immigration issue, also spoke out against the appointment.
“I fear that our community will fear that the board shares these views — not about immigration, not about legal versus illegal, but about ‘us versus them,’ ” he said.
“I have nothing against Mr. Duecaster personally,” he added. “My only objection is to his views and the many ways in which his views misrepresent the people and the government of this county. I am concerned about the future direction of the county.”
The supervisors deliberated for nearly 90 minutes in a closed session before finally emerging for a vote to approve him.
