Loudoun Supervisors Condemn Illegal Immigration
posted 1:42 pm Wed July 18, 2007 - Leesburg, Va.
"We are trying to begin the process of trying to save money by our taxpayers," said Supervisor Eugene Delgaudio, who announced the last-minute effort Tuesday morning.
The Loudoun measure, like Prince William's, did not specify which services would be denied to illegal immigrants, leaving that determination to county staff and lawyers.
Loudoun supervisors also asked the county sheriff's office to work more closely with federal authorities to quickly deport criminals who are in the country illegally. But the measure did not go as far as the Prince William legislation, which requires county police officers to check the status of anyone in police custody suspected of being an illegal immigrant.
Joe Budzinski, an active opponent of a day labor center in Herndon, told supervisors they were taking on an issue that the federal government had ignored.
"We have to ask, 'Who represents us?' " he asked. "Here, Tuesday, you do."
But Jeanne L. Smoot, public policy director of the Tahirih Justice Center in Falls Church, warned of what she called a "chilling effect" on victims of crime. She said Prince William's action has already made some women and girls that the organization serves afraid to seek justice.
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