We all tend to live in some sort of glass bowl. If your only exposure to some one who is "an illegal immigrant" is seeing them standing outside a 7 Eleven then I could understand this view. Try working next to people who travel thousands of miles from their country because it is the only work they can get. Ask someone who does not speak the native English language what the process is to become "legal" in the United States. Are you suggesting that we not teach foreign language in schools or that we do not teach to those who speak a foreign language.

Remember crimes are committed by criminals not "illegal immigrants".

When I left the military as an intel anaylst, fluent in Spanish, I went in to translating wiretaps on cell phones for the Drug Enforcement Administration as a contractor. In between the exciting cops and robbers cases I had the privilege of working on an illegal alien employment scam cell phone tap. The issue was that illegals were being employed to remove asbestos from public buildings, such as libraries, schools, etc. in Colorado. The brains behind the operation, a California Native, would get one or two people to attend the safety class of how to remove asbestos and then use those certificates with some handy touch up work and employ more than 30 illegal alien workers. These guys had no idea what they were doing and didnt understand that they were slowly killing themselves and their families. The statistics were they lived 8-10 years after they were exposed to include their families. INS was constantly raiding job sites on Mondays. The brains would pay $1000.00 to a "coyote" and have the guys that got deported back working in Colorado before the week was out. Here, we have illegals performing a public service at a risk to their own lives. They would work for $9.00/hr. Americans here would not do that work for less than $30.00 per hour. During the wiretap we learned that many of the guys coming over were criminals in their own countries. That is not to say that every single illegal is a criminal. I could go on an on. I lived in the Republic of Panama for 3 years and as a Spanish linguist for 9 years.. you get to know a little about both sides to the story.

While I understand that you are trying to say that all illegal immigrants don't commit other crimes, they are criminals and committing a crime by being illegal immigrants. That is my biggest issue with this topic. Laws exist and should be enforced. If you wish to change the law, then make that argument, but please don't argue that the enforcement of the law is wrong.

Perhaps it is difficult to gain legal immigration status. It is also difficult to become a doctor. Should we grant a medical license to someone just because the can't find work doing something else? Should we grant a medical license to someone who was a doctor in their own country, but can not pass the medical board in the US because it is in English?

I am suggesting that the language used in American schools should be English. Classes in foreign languages are valuable and should be available, but math should not be taught in Spanish. Neither should history, science, or any class other than a class specifically for learning to speak Spanish. Our teachers, principals, lunch room workers, counselors, etc should not have the need to speak Spanish in order to communicate with the students or their parents.

Brad Hancock
"I reject your reality and substitute my own!"

Thank you...these comments have been very enlightening!

Hey Jason,

Well, it obviously works to help wake things up during our periodic lulls, and it also felt like too big a topic to avoid. I'm pleased to see that the discussion has kept to the statement in our Terms of Service here, "The Montclair Post embraces the spirit of civil disagreement".

Thanks for your article. Did you read the comment thread on it? It's brutally ugly and hard to read. Which was, IMHO, the point of this whole exercise to begin with, to stir up ugly and divisive passions, rather than to look for productive and humane solutions to the problem.

Here's some more interesting numbers...

• Estimated cost to PWC for 1st Year of New Anti-Illegal Immigrant Crackdown: $6.4 Million

• Number of cases referred to Immigration & Customs Enforcement: 87

• Amount of money drained from County's 'Rainy Day Fund', leaving just $3,000 behind for unforseen expenses: $800,000

• Potenial additional costs to PWC for "transportation, processing and other expenses to deal with jail overcrowding": $3.0 Million

• Damage to our county's reputation: incalcuable

Didn't read the comments on that article, but I don't doubt it was ugly. I cannot believe some of the racist stuff people will write and actually sign their names to in our local paper.

I shouldn't be surprised that people can have a civil discussion on this website though. I've found that to be true with own neighbors, and its something I actually like about Montclair. Maybe you guys who attend MPOA meetings or whatever have a different opinion. haha.

Anyway, I totally agree about the damage we've done to the county's reputation. I realized this when a friend of mine living in Sweden started talking about PWC and the anti-illegal stuff going on. (She didn't realize it was the county where I live.) It has really made us look bad.

Chris, you might have seen this editorial today, but the Post agrees with you completely:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/09/AR2008040903636.html

A very quick review reveals that $3.1 million of the $6.4 million is for video cameras in police cars. Can that really be attributed to the crack down? The crackdown might have been the impetus, but the cameras should be in the cars anyway.

Besides that, what has the cost got to do with anything? How much does it cost to have police on the street patrolling and providing security? Is there a price that can be put on enforcing laws? Remember those cost next time you hear of a robbery or ausault. I still content that the real issue here is enforcement of existing laws. If you don't want the law enforced, you should work to have the law changed, not ignored.

Lastly, you make a profound leap to assume our county's reputation has been damaged. Even the source of your data says that there is support as well as decent. Perhaps our county's reputation is better for this. Certainly it is better known.

Brad Hancock
"I reject your reality and substitute my own!"

I don't think its much of a leap to say our county's reputation has been damaged. I mean, maybe we've risen in the esteem of minutemen and white supermacists... I'm just kidding, Brad. :)

Your probably read this in the Potomac News today. A Republican making that same profound leap:

Martin E. Nohe, R-Coles, recently raised the question at a Prince William County Greater Manassas Chamber of Commerce meeting.

In a telephone interview Monday, Nohe said the resolution may have weakened the county's reputation.

"No matter how you feel about the immigration policy, I think you have to acknowledge that the policy has created ... a lot of disagreement," Nohe said.

Nohe said some "image work" may be in order for the county.

When considering where they want to build their businesses, companies look for certain things that might now be missing in Prince William County, Nohe said.

"They want to see a community that is thriving, that is dynamic and progressive and welcoming of change,"Nohe said. "Right now we need to reclaim that mantle. We don't have that reputation right now."

Personally I think the problem is worse than what Nohe is saying. But I give him credit for admitting it. We have the worst housing market in Northern Virginia right now, and this is not helping attract new residents.

Again, I want to be clear I'm not sticking up for illegals. I just totally disagree with this method of enforcement. I think its ineffective, unrealistic, divisive, costly and was an embarassingly obvious political stunt a few months before Corey Stewart's election.

His opinion is just that - his opinion - the majority of voters (maybe not the majority, but that is the non voters problem) determined that the hard line was the line they wanted.

It sounds like Mr Nohe wants us all to agree, sit about the campfire, sing songs and decide which rules and laws we agree to obey and which ones we decide are too hard to swallow.

To my recollection PWC has never really been a hotbed of industrial or business magnetism. I recall Lego Land and Disney giving up on PWC, which would have brought millions into this county well before the current leaders were in office (FYI Hilda was in a drivers seat at that time).

The comment of being in the worst housing market in Northern VA, my little 2200 sq ft house was appraised at somewhere around 450 k, that is crazy, the home has tripled in value in 10 years - something is wrong in that raise of value, perhaps the PWC is at the lead of real true value settling in, instead of inflated value?

I am sure I am a voice of substantial minority in Montclair, but I take solace that I am not yet in the minority of PWC.

I'm pretty comfortable saying it's not a 'profoud leap' to say the PWC's reputation has been damaged as a result of Corey Stewart's crusade against illegal aliens.

Virginia's second-largest county had been known for years as a center of cheap housing and bargain shopping. But in recent years, Prince William leaders have tried to change course by attracting high-tech employers, building luxury homes and supporting good schools much as neighboring Loudoun and Fairfax counties have done.

Now, several supervisors in both parties and business leaders said, those efforts could be set back if county officials do not shift their focus from illegal immigration, which has divided the community and brought Prince William negative national exposure. ("The Road to Dystopia," one newspaper said of the crackdown.)

This stain on Prince William County's reputation isn't a profound leap, it's front page news. It's enough to make one nostalgic for the Bobbitts.

Immigration Fight Has a New Target
Stewart Hurts Pr. William's Prospects With Harsh Rhetoric, Some Say
The Washington Post, 4/20/08

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on this one. I don't see the Post as a balanced opinion. If you do, then you are kidding yourself. Regardless, even if it is a stain, enforcing the law is a stain worth having. If you disagree with that, then let's stop enforcing all the laws, including taxes and MEDICARE.

Brad Hancock
"I reject your reality and substitute my own!"

Brad, you might like this article in the Post a little more:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/20/AR2008042002136.html

Who knows? You might even call it balanced.

I thought it was a pretty good article by the way. And while I obviously don't agree with Corey Stewart at all, I have a lot of sympathy for the people in this article whose neigborhoods were overrun. Clearly, its one thing for immigrant families to move into your neighborhood. Its another thing to find fiften house painters from El Salvador in the house across the street.

By the way, I totally reject your straw man argument that this is about whether or not we enforce the laws. This argument is about HOW we enforce the laws. Do we go around demanding papers from every brown person who doesn't speak English? Even if we could round up and deport every illegal in the county (which we can't), they will sneak right back in the country because there are jobs for them here and they have no choice. We are just spinning our wheels AND wasting money.

I would like to see the immigration laws enforced by going after the businesses that lure, hire and exploit illegals. They are the root of the problem. If you effectively take away the jobs, there is no reason for illegals to come here, end of story.

We're already seeing the truth of that argument right now as construction jobs have dried up in our area, aren't we?