Many illegal immigrants have left Prince William County or slid out of public view in the 17 months since the county’s high-profile crackdown on them was proposed.
Student enrollment in the public schools’ English as a Second Language program has dropped by several hundred students over the past year while increasing in surrounding jurisdictions, one sign that immigrants have left.
Fewer day laborers congregate outside the 7-Eleven on the corner of Route 1 and Prince William Parkway in Woodbridge. About 10 of them gathered on a Tuesday afternoon several weeks ago looking for work, to no avail.
Police drive past, paying little attention to the group. In March, police officers cruising the area would have had the right to stop and ask for the men’s residency status if the officers had reason to believe they were in the country illegally.
The county changed its law against illegal immigrants July 1, requiring police to question the residency status only of those arrested, though officers still retain discretion to inquire into immigration status before making an arrest.
But the change is little comfort to many Hispanics, immigration lawyer Ricky Malik said.
“I think people here maybe changed and adapted — who they trust,” said Malik, who has offices in Manassas and Takoma Park. “Basic things — they don’t want to go to the courthouse. They’re hesitant to walk into such buildings. There’s definitely a greater distrust of any authority.”
There are no statistics to prove that illegal immigrants have moved, but figures such as the ESOL data and anecdotes suggest the county’s crackdown, approved in October 2007, and the recession have prompted illegals to leave or at least not wander too far outside their homes.
“Immigrants aren’t just an isolated part of society,” Malik said, adding that some of his Virginia clients ask to meet him in Takoma Park. “If you wipe out every immigrant in Prince William, there are so many things that won’t get done. Manassas is almost a ghost town.”
Indeed, Victor Rincon, manager of Michael’s Restaurant — adjacent to the 7-Eleven on Route 1 — said the exodus of immigrants has practically decimated his business.
“My place has lost about 75 percent of the business,” he said. “We have lost nearly everything. There’s no immigrants anymore. They have gone to Maryland or another state.”
Still, the county jail continues to turn over illegal immigrant felons to federal authorities, although at a slower pace.
“Probably detainers have gone down a small amount in the last couple months,” said Col. Pete Meletis, superintendent of the county jail.
As of Nov. 30, the jail — which doubled its five-person staff after the county crackdown went into effect to handle the spike in arrests — had detained 1,353 illegal immigrants and federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement picked up 1,269 since July 2007.
Also contributing to the flight is the recession, immigration experts say.
“Immigrants are practical people,” said American University professor Alan Kraut, who specializes in immigration history. “When they see a economy that’s floundering, they tend to back off. Migration is always a calculated choice.
“Since housing construction has slowed to stopped” in the county, immigrants have left, Kraut said. “They haven’t been treated hospitably in [Prince William] — why should people want to be there?”
Residents are still grappling with the issue.
“Some people are spent on this issue, including supervisors,” said Elena Schlossberg of Haymarket. “I don’t think citizens know where to go at this point. Things like this don’t just go away.”
Rincon said he was “hopeful” that business would pick up, but didn’t think it would.
“I’ve been trying for the last three months to get rid of this place and get out,” he said. “Go to Arlington or something. I’m losing money. I just want to leave.”
