Leaders of another outlying Northern Virginia county have passed resolutions to study the impact of illegal immigration on their constituents and evaluate how they can crack down on the growing problem.
The Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday evening to direct county staffers to study what other localities are doing to restrict illegal immigration and evaluate how restrictions can be applied.
“I’ve been following the illegal immigration issues that have been coming out of Northern Virginia with concern,” Board Chairman Chris Yakabouski said. “It is an issue that we as a locality need to address.”
Affirming English as the officiallanguage and denying county services to illegal immigrants are among the measures Yakabouski proposed, following similar action by Culpeper and Prince William counties.
Supervisors in Prince William County hoped that by adopting a landmark immigration resolution in July that asked its staff to study denying services to illegal immigrants, it would persuade other jurisdictions to take action.
“Various localities were going to pattern themselves after PW; we see it as inevitable,” said John Steinbach, an organizer with Mexicanos Sin Fronteras, an immigrant outreach organization in Prince William County. “That’s part of why our strategy of opposing this is so important.”
The growing population of Hispanic residents across Northern Virginia, which has doubled since 2000 in many counties, has helped drive the concern in suburban and rural communities.
But supervisors in Spotsylvania emphasized that their action was not targeting any ethnic group.
“We do have a growing Hispanic population, but that does not mean we have a growing illegal population,” Supervisor Hap Connors said. “I don’t want to send the message or unintended consequence that may promote racial profiling or any other discriminatory act.”
The county staff is set to report back to the Board of Supervisors soon, though no date is set for an update.
The report should be completed, “as thorough, but as quickly as possible,” Yakabouski said.
