Hopefuls Call for Assertiveness in Dealing With Illegal Immigrants

By Arianne Aryanpur (Contact)

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Most of the candidates for the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors think that additional county action is needed to address problems associated with illegal immigration, according to their responses to a questionnaire.

But all of them stopped well short of proposing an approach as aggressive as the one being taken in neighboring Prince William County, where the board has voted to have county police officers check the immigration status of anyone who breaks the law.

And although several candidates said the Loudoun board should continue its review of county services being provided to undocumented residents, none suggested any specific services that should be withheld.

The candidates responded via e-mail to a questionnaire from LoudounExtra.com, The Washington Post's Web site for Loudoun news. They were asked what they considered the county's role to be in enforcing immigration laws. Mark A. Albright, the Republican running in the Catoctin District, was the only one of the 20 candidates who did not answer the questionnaire.

Loudoun supervisors in July unanimously passed a resolution to study cutting off county services to illegal immigrants and stepping up deportations of those who commit crimes. They have not taken any action, and they are scheduled to resume discussion of the issue after the Nov. 6 election.

In their responses, most of the candidates who favored tougher action proposed steps such as strengthening enforcement of rules against crowding of homes and requiring county contractors to certify that all their employees are legal residents.

Eugene A. Delgaudio (R), the incumbent in the Sterling District, said he supported both approaches. He also cited his sponsorship of the July board resolution and his efforts to shut down the day-laborer center in Herndon, which closed last month.

His opponent, Democrat Jeanne R. West, also favored a certification requirement for companies doing business with the county, as did Supervisor Lori L. Waters, the Republican incumbent in Broad Run. Waters said that asking contractors to certify the status of their workers "would protect our taxpayers from subsidizing illegal labor."

Photo: Alex Wong

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A day laborer climbs into the vehicle of an employer after he was picked for a job as other workers look on outside Alabama Drive Park in September in Herndon. The Herndon Official Workers Center, which was established to help solve the chaotic situation that was created by day laborers seeking work on the streets, was shut down by the Herndon Town Council. (File photo)

But Michael J. Firetti, the Republican running for board chairman, was skeptical of that approach, saying that it would add "another layer of bureaucracy" and become "just another cost for taxpayers."

In addition to Delgaudio, the candidates calling for aggressive enforcement of the home crowding ordinance were board Chairman Scott K. York (I), Potomac incumbent Bruce E. Tulloch (R), Catoctin incumbent Sarah "Sally" R. Kurtz (D) and Sugarland Run challenger Susan Klimek Buckley (D).

York said that the maximum fine on landlords who violate the ordinance should be increased by as much as three times the current $2,500 and that the county should adopt "a proactive approach to zoning enforcement as opposed to being complaint-based only."

He also said he supported a bill introduced this year by Sen. Mark R. Herring (D-Loudoun) that would have denied bail to illegal immigrants who commit a felony.

Mick Staton Jr. (R), the Sugarland Run incumbent, said he is pushing to require anyone filing a land-use application with the county to guarantee that no contractor or subcontractor on their project will hire illegal immigrants.

Several candidates said they supported participation by the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office in a federal immigration program that screens people who are in custody. But no candidate proposed that sheriff's deputies check the immigration status of people stopped for routine violations. Under the measure passed by the Prince William Board of County Supervisors last week, police will check the status of anyone who breaks a law or ordinance if there is probable cause to believe that the person is an illegal immigrant.

"We should not racial profile nor be in the business of checking immigration status," said Jack Ryan, the independent challenger in Broad Run. "We should only check immigration status when a person is incarcerated for any other offense."

The Prince William board also voted to stop providing illegal immigrants with such county services as rental and mortgage assistance and senior citizen bus tours.

Few of the Loudoun candidates directly addressed the question of whether Loudoun should cut off certain services.

York said he favored "limiting services, except where health and safety are a concern, to those who have no legal status."

Geary M. Higgins (R), the challenger in the Catoctin District, said the county "should not provide public services to persons who have . . . entered our country illegally" but did not elaborate.

Jim Clem (R), the Leesburg incumbent, pointed to the perceived effects of illegal immigration, such as increased crime. "Crime has increased in many areas and neighborhood blight and housing foreclosures are also increasing at an alarming rate," he said. "Many of my constituents blame increased gang activity on illegal immigrants."

Stephen J. Snow (R), the incumbent in the Dulles District, said that illegal immigrants can never truly join the Loudoun community and that this breeds resentment and crime.

"Their status consigns them to a dark world that is below second-class citizenship and keeps them from assimilating into the community the way past generations of immigrants have," he said.

Andrea McGimsey, the Democrat running in Potomac, said she would focus on shutting down "the document mills that create false documents for illegal immigrants."

Ken Mikeman, the independent candidate in Potomac, said he was "pleased there is a debate going on here in Loudoun" and that getting ideas from many sources would produce "a result that is appropriate for the community and is consistent with the law."

Some candidates did not share his enthusiasm, saying they questioned the timing of the illegal immigration debate in Loudoun.

Stevens Miller (D), running in the Dulles District, called it "an election-year tactic used to distract the voters by a board majority that is ashamed of its record."

James Burton (I), the incumbent in Blue Ridge, took a similar view, saying that illegal immigration is being used to divert attention from issues such as ethics lapses, traffic gridlock and "rampant growth."

Burton said that a county crackdown could well lead to legal challenges. "I, personally, am not interested in leading our county into one or more lawsuits which we have little hope of winning simply to make a point with the INS, the Congress, and the President that we are displeased with their performance of their responsibilities," he said.

Phyllis J. Randall, the Democratic candidate in Broad Run, said the Board of Supervisors should not have waited until the last six months of an election year to address the issue. "Some issues are much too important and too complicated for political demagoguery," she said.

Kelly Burk, the Democrat running in Leesburg, simply offered this advice: "Anyone who is concerned about immigration issues should call Congressman Frank Wolf at 202-225-5136."

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