Prince William County officials have until Sept. 11 to determine how they will implement a landmark immigration resolution designed to hasten deportation of illegal immigrants and ban them from receiving some county services.
The county announced on Tuesday the dates of two public meetings to discuss policy changes triggered when county supervisors passed the resolution in July. The first session, on Sept. 11, will cover police procedures, while an Oct. 2 meeting will deal with new measures to ban illegal immigrants from receiving some county services.
“We are going full steam ahead with our proposal to deny services to illegal immigrants and to require police officers to check for immigration status,” Prince William County Board Chairman Corey Stewart said.
Police department officials are developing a new system for checking the immigration status of criminal suspects who may be in the country illegally. The county executive is analyzing what services the county can deny to illegal immigrants and how to make it happen.
Key questions include how the police department will establish whether a suspect meets “probable cause” for being in the country illegally and whether a massive database will be required to keep track of who is qualified to receive county services and who is not.
