While Prince William and Loudoun leaders seek to tighten restrictions on illegal immigrants, their counterparts in Arlington and Alexandria officials have gone on the defensive regarding their policies.
“Much has been reported lately of an immigration ‘problem’ in parts of Northern Virginia. There is no such ‘problem’ in Arlington County,” County Manager Ron Carlee wrote in a Sept. 11 memo. “Much of what is being said about immigration is political rhetoric during a hotly contested campaign season.”
Alexandria’s city manager wrote a similar memo describing the city’s policies. Both outline goals of maintaining diverse populations and tout low crime rates while diversity has increased. The memos call immigration policy a federal concern while stating the county and city adhere to federal and state regulations.
“Alexandria is a culturally diverse city, and one of the articulated goals in the city’s strategic plan is to maintain this diversity,” City Manager Jim Hartmann wrote in a Sept. 14 memo. “Alexandria does not have specific laws or policies in place to limit access to services to any resident.”
Prince William County Police Chief Charlie Deane has drafted a policy on how and when to check the immigration status of those stopped by police. But Arlington officers “shall not routinely undertake immigration-related investigations and inquiries into the immigrations status of persons encountered during police operations,” according to department rules.
That special order, drafted by Chief Douglas Scott in August, encourages officers to contact federal authorities after developing a reasonable suspicion that a suspect may have entered the country illegally under certain circumstances, such as an arrest for a violent felony or on terrorism charges.
Alexandria officers haven’t received new policy on immigration status since 2004, Lt. Jamie Bartlett said. A state law that took effect then permitted police to arrest previously deported felons and apply to transfer them to federal immigration authorities.
“Determining a suspect’s immigration status cannot be the sole purpose to stop a person or to form a basis for an investigation or inquiry,” former Alexandria Police Chief Charles Samarra wrote in a June 2004 memo.
