County stands on illegal immigration worry some business groups

By Heather B. Hayes
for Virginia Business
September 2007

Immigration reform may be dead in Washington, but not in Virginia. Prince William and Loudoun counties have passed resolutions that supervisors hope will curb illegal immigration.

Prince William’s measure asks local agencies to look for ways to deny county services to illegal immigrants. It also requires police to check the status of anyone in custody suspected of being an illegal immigrant. Loudoun’s resolution goes a step further by imposing penalties on businesses employing illegal immigrants.

But the viability of such resolutions is now in doubt. A federal judge has ruled that tough anti-immigration measures in Hazleton, Pa., are unconstitutional.
Recent Census Bureau figures reveal that the Hispanic populations of Prince William and Loudoun are among the fastest growing in the nation. Hispanics, for example, made up 32 percent of Loudoun’s total population in 2006, up from 20 percent in 2000.

The counties’ resolutions, both passed in July, called for weeks of study by county agencies before implementation. “We are working with our Human Rights Commission and our legal immigrant communities to make sure that all this is done in a way that’s sensitive and doesn’t result in any intimidation,” says Corey A. Stewart (R-Occoquan), chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors.

The actions left business groups wondering about possible effects on local companies and the region’s economic growth. “Quite frankly, I think it gives negative vibes to those counties,” says Michel Zajur, president/CEO of the Virginia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. “I think it changes the climate such that people will perceive it as inhospitable to immigrants and unfriendly to business. And so people and businesses will choose not to locate there or move to the next county or the next state. All in all, I think it’s a bad move.”
The supervisors defend their actions as necessary in the absence of federal leadership on the issue. They cite overcrowded suburbs and schools, busted budgets and increased crime rates as reasons for their hard-line stand. “We have been as patient as we can,” says Loudoun Supervisor Eugene A. Delgaudio (R-Sterling), who sponsored his county’s resolution. “But just like we hit a line on deficits and on borrowing, we’ve hit the line on how many illegal aliens can be tolerated in Northern Virginia. And, yes, it’s going to impact us, but somebody’s got to take responsibility. It’s a mess.”

But penalizing companies who hire illegal immigrants is the wrong approach, says Tony Howard, president and CEO of the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce. He notes that businesses that want to check the legal status of job applicants have no real support. “It’s like taking down all the speed signs on the county roads, but then ticketing someone for speeding,” he says.
Delgaudio suggests that if businesses can’t determine someone’s legal status from traditional documentation such as Social Security numbers and birth certificates, then perhaps it’s time to upgrade the kind of identification analysis required for hiring.

Supervisors in other counties also are considering measures to deal with illegal immigration, and Culpeper County passed a resolution declaring English to be its official language.

But in the Hazleton case, U.S. District Judge James M. Munley ruled that immigration enforcement is the business of the federal government, not local officials. Hazleton is appealing the decision, which does not have any immediate effect on the Virginia resolutions.