> Prince William County, Va., is declaring war on crime-breakers who
> have NO LEGAL BUSINESS being there.
>
> TIRED of seeing chickens kept in filthy backyards, TIRED of smelling
> rotting, uncovered garbage on the sidewalks, TIRED of paying for
> medical treatment and other tax-supported services for law-breaking
> illegals, TIRED of seeing a dozen or more grimy-faced illegals
> parading to and from single houses meant for four legal citizens,
> TIRED of watching illegals without valid licenses or insurance driving
> at breakneck speed -- often drunk or drugged -- down its roads and
> highways and crashing into unsuspecting human beings, TIRED of hordes
> of fast-breeding south-of-the-border types refusing to speak or learn
> English -- Prince William's law-abiding residents, and their
> legislators, are TIRED, fed up and want action taken against these
> value-less intruders.
>
> And ACTION started yesterday!
>
> ----------------------------
> Latinos Looking Over Shoulder
> Pr. William Begins Checking Suspects' Immigration Status
>
> By Pamela Constable and Nick Miroff
> Washington Post Staff Writers
> Tuesday, March 4, 2008; A01
>
> Work-van drivers signaled long before their turns to avoid being
> pulled over for a traffic violation. Day laborers skipped their early
> morning coffee at 7-Eleven, and merengue tunes played to empty tables
> at Latino lunch counters across Prince William County yesterday.
>
> It was the first day of a county ordinance that allows police to check
> people's immigration status for even minor legal infractions.
>
> Police officials pledged to enforce the law fairly and to not stop and
> question individuals based on their racial or ethnic appearance, but
> many Hispanic residents said they feared they would be stopped without
> reason and deported for such violations as driving without a valid
> license or having a broken taillight.
>
> "Already the rumors are starting," said Rene Cabrera, a legal resident
> from El Salvador who works at a market in Manassas. "My friend saw
> four patrol cars outside a shopping mall and thought it was a raid.
> Instead of going to the store, he stayed in his car and drove away. I
> really worry this can create chaos."
>
> Immigrant advocate groups, speaking at a community meeting Sunday in
> Woodbridge and on local Spanish-language radio stations, have been
> advising immigrants without legal papers to keep a low profile and
> obey all traffic rules. If stopped by police, the groups said, they
> should be polite and show some identification but otherwise remain
> silent until they can see a lawyer.
>
> "We are telling people to drive perfectly, not to spit or jaywalk, and
> not to carry anything in a brown paper bag," said Nancy Lyhall, a
> volunteer with the local pro-immigrant group Mexicans Without Borders.
> "They should be the model of model citizens."
>
> County Police Chief Charlie T. Deane, speaking to reporters yesterday,
> said that his officers would "continue to enforce the law in a fair,
> lawful and reasonable manner" and that they have been trained "very
> carefully" to conduct immigration checks. The new measures are
> expected to cost $26 million over five years, and Deane has asked
> county officials for an additional $3 million to install video cameras
> in every patrol car and monitor them to ensure proper procedures are
> followed.
>
> "Those who are suspected of breaking the law -- even traffic
> violations -- will be screened if the officer has probable cause to
> believe the suspect is in the country illegally," Deane said. If the
> driver lacks a valid U.S. license, it's much more likely now that
> police will notify federal immigration officials. "The officer will
> have to make the determination on a case-by-case basis," he said.
>
> Legal and illegal immigrants yesterday expressed the belief -- some
> with sadness, others with indignation -- that the law is part of a
> larger effort to drive Hispanics out of the county. Santos Perdomo,
> 38, a legal resident who owns a business and two houses in Prince
> William, said he had always donated to the county police charity fund.
> Now, he said, he no longer feels like giving.
>
> "Even though I am legal, I feel rejected," he said. "This law has
> ruined all the good feelings. When I came here 12 years ago, my
> neighbors sent me pies. Now they look at me differently."
>
> Perdomo said that many Hispanics are leaving the county but that he
> plans to stay. "I don't want to teach my children to be bitter," he
> said.
>
> Juan Hernandez, 32, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala who works as a
> carpenter in Manassas, said he has stopped driving and now only walks,
> as fast as he can, between his apartment and his job site.
>
> "I have three kids back home, so I have to keep working," he said,
> munching on an enchilada at an otherwise empty Central American cafe.
> "I was afraid walking to this place today, but I thought, I am a good
> person, I don't steal or drink, so God will watch over me."
>
> Despite police assurances that they will not use the new law to target
> Hispanics, immigrant advocates said they believe this is already
> happening. Ricardo Juarez, a Woodbridge resident who is coordinator of
> Mexicans Without Borders, said he was stopped by a police officer last
> week who said he had failed to signal a turn and then asked to see his
> license.
>
> "I had been very careful to signal because I saw he was following me,"
> Juarez said yesterday. "They say this will not be a witch hunt, but we
> think it will be a silent and gradual witch hunt.
>
> "After all this money and training, they are not going to want the
> officers to come back empty-handed."
>
> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/03/AR200...