A vote to enact the nationally watched plan of Prince William County, Va., to crack down on illegal immigrants was delayed into the night Tuesday after a huge public turnout produced a marathon session of emotional public testimony.
More than 1,200 people packed the county government complex in Woodbridge and the streets outside Tuesday afternoon, creating a charged — and at times tense — atmosphere. As the Board of County Supervisors meeting began, supporters and opponents of the measures scuffled in the street before police pulled the two sides apart, threatening to make arrests.
The confrontation underscored the intense debate playing out in communities across the country, where an increasing number of jurisdictions have been taking steps to clamp down on illegal immigrants after Congress failed to pass immigration overhaul measures.
“This is America!” activists yelled from the anti-illegal immigrant group Help Save Manassas as they were restrained by police.
Opposite them, several hundred residents, mostly Hispanic, responded with a deafening chant of “Si, se puede!” (“Yes, we can!”).
The tension in Woodbridge came as officials in Fairfax County and Richmond also turned their attention to the issue Tuesday. Fairfax’s county executive said he would begin studying which services might be restricted to illegal immigrants. In Richmond, officials rejected a proposal to build a 1,000-bed detention center where illegal immigrants could be temporarily held for deportation. Instead, the Virginia Crime Commission’s immigration task force approved a proposal to give more money to local governments to house arrested illegal immigrants and to expand or build jails.
But the real drama was in Prince William, and it wasn’t confined to the street. About 360 people signed up to address the supervisors during the public comment period; at 11 p.m., about 70 people were still waiting to speak. When the board’s chairman, Republican Corey Stewart, who has made illegal immigration the signature issue of his reelection campaign, moved at the outset to reduce the time allotted for each speaker from three minutes to one, Republican Supervisor Maureen Caddigan sought to block the measure.
Caddigan and other board members have criticized Stewart for using $30,000 in public money to send postcards to every Prince William household notifying residents of the board’s vote. Stewart should not invite residents to the meeting and then restrict their right to speak, Caddigan argued.
The motion was put to a vote, and five of the board’s other seven members, including three Republicans, agreed with Caddigan.
Nine hours later, the supervisors were still hearing public testimony and not begun a discussion of the proposal to fully implement the anti-illegal immigrant policies. At one point late into the session, Democratic Supervisor Hilda Barg said Stewart had left the board chambers to conduct television interviews and asked to delay proceedings until he returned.
The measures considered Tuesday would authorize police to conduct residency checks on anyone arrested in the county and increase cooperation with federal immigration authorities. They also would deny certain county services to illegal immigrants.
