Immigration Issues in Virginia to Be Reviewed by State Subcommittee

On Friday, the Virginia Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights announced that it will convene in Woodbridge, Virginia on December 14th to gather a broad cross-section of perspectives from local officials, immigration specialists, and advocacy groups about the recent immigration resolution in Prince William County where recently, the Board of Supervisors passed a resolution making it more difficult for illegal immigrants to access county services.

The Prince William County leadership drafted the legislation to respond to the local populace's concerns about overcrowded schools, difficulty getting emergency-room access, neighborhoods' aesthetic appeal becoming tainted by the sight of old or corroded cars and trucks, litter in yards, houses becoming overcrowded, Spanish signage appearing everywhere, and the rise of street gangs.

Their actions have caused them to be branded as "racists", "xenophobic", and "nativist" fundamentalists by those opposed to them.

Some critics of the immigration policy in place up to now have decried the fact that since most of these immigrants are Latino and so many are illegal, the opportunities of the local black American population have been greatly diminished by the immigrants' encroachments.

The meeting is inspired by the fact that in 2004 in January, President Bush called upon Congress to draft comprehensive immigration legislation to secure the national borders while at once affirming the United States as a nation made out of immigrants.

The House and Senate drafted and voted on two starkly different immigration bills but to no avail.

Therefore, since that time local jurisdictions have taken it upon themselves to draft their own policies. The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has established state advisory committees to advise the Commission about civil rights issues in their respective states that come under the Commission's jurisdiction.

The Immigration Subcommittee, which is co-chaired by Linda Chavez and Edmund Cooke, will review immigration issues in Virginia, including the potential impact that their legislative decisions may have on law enforcement and community services as well as social interactions.

According to the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), over the last six years nearly 565,000 new residents moved to Virginia, and 27% of these people were immigrants. As a result of this influx, the state's environmental resources and infrastructure are being overly burdened, especially in the state's northern suburbs where costs and social strains have risen considerably. Open spaces throughout the state are disappearing, much to the concern of many.

As of the end of 2005, there were more than 677,000 foreign-born immigrants living in Virginia.

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