Democratic candidates debate illegal immigration
By Dan Roem
The four candidates vying to become the Democratic nominee in the 11th congressional district stopped at the Ferlazzo building in Woodbridge on Tuesday for a debate. The two men and two women took time to discuss Prince William County's crackdown on illegal immigration.The Prince William Board of County Supervisors recently adopted a law requiring residency checks for everyone applying for certain services to ensure that illegal immigrants don't receive county benefits.
In addition, police in Prince William are checking the immigration status of everyone they arrest.
Of the four candidates, only physical therapist Lori Alexander openly supported the crackdown. Former Navy pilot Doug Denneny unequivocally opposed every aspect of the Prince William plan and Fairfax Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerry Connolly lambasted it as “demagoguery.” However, former U.S. Rep. Leslie Byrne said it would be a “fool’s game” for Democrats to take on the Prince William board at this point.
Denneny
“I completely disagree with that legislation that (Prince William Board of County Supervisors Chairman) Corey Stewart and others passed,” said Denneny, who is trying to become the second Iraq War veteran to serve in Congress. “I think that it is abhorrent in 2008 that people would be codifying into law some level of racial profiling and not only that, but not even give police officers the tools they need to completely enforce that law.”
The Prince William police chief and county attorney had asked the board to install video cameras in every squad car to protect against the inevitable racial profiling lawsuits. The board opted not to fund the cameras, though supervisors believe that they have written the law so as to ensure racial profiling does not occur.
After the debate, Denneny elaborated his stance. If the immigrant community fears and mistrusts police, the police can't work with them to protect immigrant communities from crime, he said.
“And what that means is those people may not be able to have some type of protection when they really need it,” he added.
Byrne
Byrne, who carried the 11th District during her run for lieutenant governor in 2006, said the immigration debate in Prince William is over and that it's time to look for solutions to the larger immigration problem.
The real issue, she said, is that there is not enough enforcement of the federal law prohibiting companies from hiring illegal immigrants.
“The blame lies in not enforcing the code that is already written and that is where we should be looking to enforce it,” she said.
Alexander
Alexander took a personal approach, saying that while working at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, she noticed many people lacked health insurance. The hospital has to treat those people without any assurance that it will be paid.
Many of those people are illegal immigrants and it's a big problem in Fairfax County, she said. “That’s why people make fun of Fairfax County. They say we’re a refuge.”
She later added, “It’s because Fairfax County is not taking a stance. And I can tell you I truly care about all people. I want all people to have health care. But I do believe is that we do need to prevent fraud and I think Americans have to be first.”
Connolly
Connolly has clashed with Stewart repeatedly over the topic of illegal immigration as Stewart has essentially become the poster child for zero-tolerance while Connolly has said Fairfax would never do something similar under his watch.
“It’s not a fool’s errand, as Leslie suggests, to take on demagoguery,” stated the Fairfax County chairman, who runs a board that consists of eight Democrats and two Republicans. “It is not okay to demonize fellow human beings because of their status. And in my view as a Democrat running for reelection in a campaign, I (had) the courage to stand up and say, ‘That’s wrong,’ and we’re not going to do that in our community.”
Connolly actually agreed with Stewart on one aspect of illegal immigration.
“There’s not sufficient enforcement by the federal government and this is a federal responsibility and as a result, the problems fall on those of us at the local level,” Connolly said, echoing testimony Stewart gave to Congress last year. “And that’s not right because we have enough on our plate at the local level.”
After Connolly’s comments, Alexander went on the offensive, saying Connolly uses the issue to help his political career.
“But, you know what, since Prince William County cut back, they caught a child molester — an illegal immigrant that had molested a 4-year-old child,” she said referring to a case that occurred in Prince William in March. “And, you know what? If that law got a molester off our streets, than it’s worth it.”
Whoever wins the June 10 Democratic primary will face Republican Keith Fimian in the November general election.