Immigrant advocates march in N.Va.
Published: February 17, 2009
MANASSAS PARK -- More than 100 immigrants and their supporters marched through Prince William County yesterday to protest policies they say have torn apart families, caused racial tension and made them fearful of reporting crimes.
With chants in Spanish of "Justice!" and "Stop police brutality," the immigrant advocacy group Mexicans Without Borders demanded that county officials rescind a 2007 resolution that allows county police to enforce federal immigration law and denies some public services to illegal immigrants. They say the policy, which drew national attention, has created strife between Hispanic immigrants and police.
"We're fighting against all the injustices being committed against us," said 34-year-old Adrian Games of Woodbridge as he walked along a sidewalk holding his 6-year-old son's hand.
Games said the march is a way to pressure lawmakers to reconsider policies that he said have caused families to flee and have hurt the local economy.
"This is the start of something we're going to continue until we reach our goal," he said.
Protesters yesterday also demanded justice for Manassas Park resident Agueda Dominguez, who claimed that a police officer beat her during a traffic stop this month because she's Hispanic and doesn't speak English. Authorities have said Dominguez and the officer were injured in the incident, which is under investigation.
"We feel that the Dominguez case is the straw that broke the camel's back," said Nancy Lyall, legal coordinator with Mexicans Without Borders, before the march from Manassas Park to the Prince William courthouse.
Lyall said what happened to Dominguez is directly related to the passage of the resolution in Prince William.
"That resolution sets the tone . . . to look at our immigrant population differently than the rest of the people that reside here," she said.
Prince William is one of a handful of Washington-area counties that has cracked down on illegal immigration in recent years. In Virginia's Loudoun County and Maryland's Frederick County, law-enforcement authorities also are trained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to enforce federal law.
Yesterday's demonstration comes a week after small-business owners in Prince William demanded that lawmakers rescind a part of the anti-illegal immigration policy that requires business people to prove they are legal residents of the county.
The county had asked about 4,000 business owners to provide proof of legal residency by March 1 to get their business licenses renewed. Area doctors, architects and others have resisted the effort.
Reader Reactions
Why is this news? Why do we care? Why does an illegal get anything in this country except a map showing them their way home?
Why do they think they deserve anything? If they want to speak Spanish, and cherish their “culture” then go back to Mexico! Illegal immigrants are criminals, a drain on the economy and they do nothing to improve our society, wow! they had 100 people marching?? Guess the rest were hiding from INS!
WOW….just a hundred???? a far cry from the “day without immigrants” march of 2006….which brought national attention and outrage to what is really going on in our country…I think their plan backfired…could it be that they’re a little afraid to come out of the shadows now??
Are they here legally? If not, then why are they marching in public? Not much of a crackdown if they can do this. They want the rights under our Constitution but they don’t want to abide by the laws enacted under it. They want the benefits of citizenship, but don’t go to the trouble to learn the language. Thir group’s name says it all. They want the Mexican border moved north to the Canadian border.
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