Yesterday July 3, 2010, , the Washington Post printed  an editorial entitled: In Prince William County, a call for a tough immigration law. The editorial castigates the chairman of the board of supervisors and his ilk for being an opportunist. 

ARIZONA’S SPASM of xenophobia has inspired copycats as well as critics around the country, a disparate response that reflects Americans’ ambivalence toward illegal immigration. In a Washington Post-ABC poll last month, a majority of respondents said they favored the Arizona law, which allows police broad discretion to check the residency status of people — “your papers, please!” — based on an arbitrary “suspicion” that they may be undocumented. At the same time, a majority in the poll said they favored amnesty for the estimated 11 million immigrants living in this country illegally — that is, allowing them to remain in the county, shift to legal status and eventually become eligible for citizenship if they pay a fine and meet other requirements.

That ambivalence, and the political impasse around immigration reform, framed President Obama’s speech on the issue Thursday — his first since becoming president. The president accurately diagnosed the political dimensions of problem: that mending the nation’s broken immigration system is stalled in the absence of Republican support in the Senate. Unfortunately, he offered no new ideas to fix the system. His speech, prompted mainly by immigrants’ groups unhappy with his administration’s inaction, seemed more an attempt to keep Hispanic voters within the Democratic coalition than to inject new life into a moribund debate.

With Congress incapable of acting, other states are now likely to come under increasing pressure to do what Arizona has done.

A test case may be developing in Virginia, where a local politician who has ridden the wave of sentiment against undocumented immigrants wants to push the issue even more. Corey A. Stewart, the top elected official in Prince William County, has proposed a legislative agenda that takes Arizona’s law as its template but goes further. Mr. Stewart, a Republican who faces reelection next year, has proposed what he calls the “Virginia Rule of Law Campaign,” a package of legislation that, among other measures, would authorize police to ascertain the immigration status of any individual upon “any lawful contact.” If that’s not an invitation to racial profiling and harassment-on-a-whim, nothing is.

Mr. Stewart, chairman of the county Board of Supervisors, was the driving force behind Prince William’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants in 2007, which bred intolerance in the previously relatively harmonious county. The law he sponsored requires the county police to determine the immigration status of suspects upon arrest. Its passage, and bluster from Mr. Stewart and his allies, prompted some illegal immigrants to leave the county — and probably go to neighboring jurisdictions. Mr. Stewart, with his characteristic disdain for facts, asserts that their departure is responsible for the county’s falling crime rate. In fact, the drop in crime mirrors regional and national trends

Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) has wisely kept his distance from Mr. Stewart’s attempt to take his crusade statewide, saying only he’ll study whatever comes up. The governor correctly notes that the federal government has failed to fashion a workable immigration system, and that the nation’s laws should be obeyed “and lawful immigration . . . encouraged and facilitated.”

Americans remain deeply divided over immigration, and politicians like Mr. Stewart have enjoyed some success in stoking tensions over that divide. Until Congress reforms the nation’s immigration system, undocumented immigrants will remain in limbo, and Mr. Stewart and his ilk will make political hay by hounding them.

Entire Editorial

The Washington Post sees right through Corey and his ambitions. Both the News and Messenger and the Washington Post have been around to see the debacle unfold, going back to 2007. Johnny-come-latelies like Fox News don’t know the background and won’t be asking the difficult questions like both of the Post and
N & M ask. Say what you want about print media, they are the ones who will ultimately make you look in the mirror. Both the Post and N & M have done just that.

Speaking of which….where are Corey’s old cronies? Who is going to crawl out from under a rock and cheer Corey on? Perhaps this latest move has thinned the ilk herd a bit. Perhaps the ilk will be more selective about whom they associate with.

Alex Granados now gives his personal opinion. Posted in its entirety from News & Messenger:

Alex Granados
Published: June 27, 2010

I like Corey Stewart. I really do. When I became editorial page editor a few years back, I went out to lunch with him. I found him to be interesting, friendly and kind. Meeting and talking with him at various times since then has done nothing to change that perception. He is intelligent, articulate and a strong leader.

Having said all of that, I find myself often opposed to some of his public actions. Now, I don’t mean the everyday aspects of governance involving the humdrum of local administration, I mean the big things. And often, it’s not even that I disagree with him. No, it’s his style that rankles me.

Lest you think I’m being superficial, let me explain.

The main issue for which Mr. Stewart is known is probably illegal immigration. He was a staunch supporter of the county’s illegal immigration resolution, and he is spearheading the fight to bring Arizona-style illegal immigration reform to Virginia.

What bothers me is how much he seems to relish the limelight, how much he seems to enjoy injecting himself in controversial topics, how much he appears to be trying to use Prince William County as a jumping off point to something bigger.

This was touched upon in an editorial Friday, but that is the newspaper’s opinion. I wanted to explain mine.

The initial Prince William County illegal immigration resolution was supervisor John Stirrup’s baby, but somewhere along the line, Stewart adopted it. He went on television, he spoke to newspapers local and national, and he raised his political profile quite a few feet in the process. The pinnacle of this came when he stepped out of a public hearing on the issue to give an interview to CNN. What better example of his putting his fame above county residents could there be?

Now, with his latest push for statewide illegal immigration reform, Stewart is once again setting himself up for national attention. Arizona’s recent legislation has brought media from around country to that one state out of 50. No doubt, if Virginia tries the same thing, all eyes will be on our commonwealth. More specifically, those eyes will focus on the ringleader of it all: Corey Stewart.

However, Mr. Stewart will ultimately have nothing to do with the passage of the legislation. It will be voted on by our representatives. But if he keeps in the public eye on this issue, the credit will go to him, not our leaders in Richmond.

I guess when you get right down to it, my problem is that I question his motives.

I talked to Stewart about his most recent push for illegal immigration reform. He prefaced his remarks by giving me a litany of accomplishments that he says the News & Messenger has overlooked. But in fairness, none of them has had his name so intricately tied to it as has illegal immigration. We have even praised some county accomplishments, but not, according to Mr. Stewart, with credit being served where due. He says that the only time we single him out is when we want to criticize something. But if that is true, it is only because he attaches his name to some issues with such prominence that they cannot be discussed without also discussing him.

Like I said, I like Mr. Stewart. He is a nice person. I even think he is a good county leader. However, I wonder if he has a little guy named “Blind Ambition” on his shoulder, periodically leading him astray. If he could learn to listen to B.A. less, I think Stewart could be one of the best leaders the county has ever had.

I mean that honestly and with respect, Mr. Chairman

I expect many of our contributors and readers disagree with Mr. Granados. Consensus here at ‘Howlings is that Stewart has given up far too much to developers after promising to do otherwise.

Additionally, Corey should play the local paper a little smarter.  How ’bout it Corey?

And finally, most people find Corey likable, funny, friendly, and just a hell of a lot of fun. Too bad he has to spoil all that stepping on the backs of the constituents of Prince William County. Corey, play to your strengths!

Included, in its entirety. 

From the News and Messenger:

EDITORIAL: Stewart’s duty is to Prince William County

Our View
Published: June 26, 2010

Corey Stewart, not content to let the spotlight shine only on leaders in another state, is now pushing a law in Virginia similar to illegal immigration legislation in Arizona.

Virginia’s version would, among other things, “Make it a violation of Virginia law to fail to complete alien registration documents,” according to Stewart’s website: http://www.coreystewart.com/ruleoflaw. Police officers would be required to check “in any lawful contact, the legal presence of an individual, when practicable.” Go to Stewart’s website to see all aspects of the proposed law.

The issue here isn’t whether the legislation is a good idea, it’s whether Stewart has any business pursuing it. His job is to be the chairman of the Board of County Supervisors, so what is he doing trying to change state law? That is the job of our delegates and state senators, some of whom have stated that they are pursuing state remedies for illegal immigration already. Perhaps if this were a proposal supported mainly for the good of the county, we would understand. However, arguably, Prince William County, which already has a controversial illegal immigration law, is the jurisdiction that would benefit least—despite Stewart’s assertion that some illegal immigrants who have fled may be returning.

In an interview with Editorial Page Editor Alex Granados, Stewart said that state leaders in Richmond have shown themselves incapable of doing what’s necessary.

“The legislature down there has had three years to do something, and they have done nothing,” he said.

Furthermore, he says that the attention he has received in the past as a crusader against illegal immigration will be a boon to his current effort.

“For better or worse, I have the notoriety on the issue that I can use,” he said.

And by spreading news about the proposed bill to everyday citizens, he hopes they will pressure state legislators to take action.

Stewart is right that state legislators have not found a fix for illegal immigration. But that probably has more to do with the fact that the issue is complicated than with anything else. The newspaper has never found our area’s leaders particularly fearful of controversy. Quite the opposite, in fact. And regardless, it is not Stewart’s place, as BOCS chairman, to do their job for them. He has a responsibility to Prince William County, one that cannot be effectively fulfilled when he is focused on reforming state law.

As for Stewart’s notoriety and its usefulness, he is correct. His reputation will bring attention to illegal immigration reform. However, it will also bring attention to Prince William County—attention that it does not need.

When the county went through its debate over illegal immigration years ago, a great deal of negative publicity was focused here. Perceptions of the area across the country varied widely, but no matter the opinion, the county became intertwined with controversy.

Gradually, the uproar has faded. However, with Stewart’s involvement in this new illegal immigration fight, the county, once again, will become a focal point.

In a time when local jurisdictions are battling a tough economy, Stewart should not hamstring us with a possibly negative reputation. What businesses will want to invest in a seemingly divided community? What professionals will want to move here when all they hear about us in the news relates to strife? Stewart’s notoriety might be good for illegal immigration reform, but it’s not good for the county.

Whether or not the attempt to model Virginia after Arizona succeeds, one of the main people to benefit from this will be Stewart. We have already seen with his short-lived attempt to become lieutenant governor that he has higher ambitions. We don’t fault him for that—that is the nature of political leaders. However, we have a problem with Stewart harping on issues outside the county for the sake of his own reputation, which we believe is the case here.

 

Virginia probably does need better illegal immigration laws. It also needs strong leaders to make it happen. But we don’t need Corey Stewart to do that now. He was elected to focus on the residents of Prince William County, not the state. Until he is actually elected to higher office, we would like to see him keep his focus here.

Its about time someone in the media gets the story straight. 

Someone GETS it!  A big thanks to Media Mattersfor pointing out what Moonhowlings.net has been saying all along.

Copied in its entirety from mediamatters.org:

On Fox & Friends, co-host Steve Doocy and guest Corey Stewart, chairman of the Prince William County, Virginia, board of supervisors, falsely claimed that the county’s controversial immigration law reduced violent crime and has never been altered. In fact, Prince William County’s violent crime rates actually increased in 2009; the law was modified in 2008 to avoid legal challenges; and a University of Virginia study of the law shows that it has not led to a reduction in crime.

Doocy falsely claimed immigration law led to a “reduction in violent crimes” and an overall “huge drop in crime”

Doocy falsely claims immigration law led to “38 percent reduction in violent crimes.” On the June 21 edition of Fox News’ Fox & Friends, Doocy introduced Stewart by claiming, “Three years ago, Prince William County in Virginia passed major immigration reform, and they’ve since seen a huge drop in crime.” Doocy later said to Stewart, “Let’s take a look at some of the changes in Prince William County since this law went into place — 38 percent reduction in violent crimes.” The law in question requires police officers to inquire about the immigration status of those persons who have been placed under arrest.

In fact, Prince William County’s violent crime rate increased 10.9 percent in 2009. According to Prince William County Police Department crime statistics, in 2009, the county saw a 10.9 percent increase in violent crimes. The county’s “overall crime rate” decreased by 1.9 percent from the previous year. The law first went into effect in 2008, during which time the county saw an increase in its overall crime rate and a reduction in violent crimes versus the year prior.

Prince William County’s 2009 overall lowered crime rate is credited as being “part of a trend that started long before” the immigration bill. In a National Review Online post, John J. Miller wrote: “As it happens, crime rates have been going down for a long time in Prince William County. The latest numbers are part of a trend that started long before the county took a stand against illegal immigration.” Prince William County Police Chief Charlie T. Deane reportedly noted that crime rates have been decreasing nationwide and that Prince William County’s rates were consistent with that trend. According to The Washington Post, Deane said, ” ‘I also think, nationwide, crime rates are declining, and I’m pleased we’ve continued to see’ that in the county, too.”

“Illegal aliens” only account for a small percentage of crimes and arrests, and the vast majority of those arrested were for “misdemeanor or traffic charges.” The reports show that those suspected of being “illegal aliens” account for only a small percentage of total crimes. In 2008, “[o]f all persons arrested or summonsed in Prince William County, 1.7% were determined to lack legal status,” while “86.9% of those suspected to be illegal aliens were arrested on misdemeanor or traffic charges.” In 2009, “[o]f all persons arrested or summonsed in Prince William County, 2.2% were determined to lack legal status,” while “87.5% of those suspected to be illegal aliens were arrested on misdemeanor or traffic charges.”

UVA study: “[T]he policy has not reduced most forms of crime in PWC.” The University of Virginia (UVA) studied the effects of the law on Prince William County crime rates and concluded, “Overall, our descriptive assessment of PWCPD data on crime reports and arrests suggests that the policy has not reduced most forms of crime in PWC and that its contribution to the County’s drop in serious violence has likely been modest.” A May 7 Washington Post article cited the UVA study and reported that “the study also said that it seems unlikely that the county’s drop in violent crime was because of the policy, because illegal immigrants make up a small percentage of those arrested for such crimes.”

Doocy lets guest falsely claim that the “law stands today as it was written in 2007″

Doocy allows Stewart to falsely claim that the “law stands today as it was written in 2007.” After Doocy asked Stewart about legal challenges to the law, Stewart falsely claimed that “the federal district court in Arlington, Virginia, threw [a court challenge to the bill] out on its face — threw the challenge out on its face — and the law stands today as it was written in 2007.” 

In fact, the “ordinance was modified in 2008 amid charges that it was unconstitutional.” Contrary to Stewart’s claim that “the law stands today as it was written in 2007,” The Washington Post reported:

The Prince William ordinance was modified in 2008 amid charges that it was unconstitutional and could lead to racial profiling. In the end, rather than questioning only people they suspected of being undocumented immigrants, officers were directed to question all criminal suspects about their immigration status once an arrest was made.

— J.V.B

At this point, I am just laughing.  What kind of cajones does it take to go on national cable and repeat the same old lies that we have PROVEN are lies on this blog.

No, the ‘Immigration Resolution’  we have now is NOT the 2007 one.  Corey, Corey, Corey. This was aired this morning:

Start listing the lies. What’s really scary is that Faux News believes it all. The 287(g) program was dangled out later on. Peter Johnson left out the part about being approved for the program, having a memorandum of understanding and vast amounts of training to be part of 287(g).

The lies are just compounding now. And Prince William looks like ….Don’t want to use that expression here. The foil for all this was Mexicans without Borders.

Just reading between the lines, the Republican state delegates from the area don’t appear to be appreciative of finding out about Stewart’s ambitions 2nd and 3rd hand. It appears they were blind sided.

After hours, News & Messenger online announced:

Stewart recently formed the “Rule of Law” campaign, saying he hopes to spur state legislators into passing a law similar to the one recently passed Arizona.

The Arizona law, which is similar to an ordinance passed in Prince William County in 2007, allows police to check the immigration status of anyone they stop or suspect of a crime.

Stewart said Arizona lawmakers acted because the feds weren’t enforcing existing immigration laws.

“They’re definitely not doing their job in Virginia,” Stewart said of the federal government.

We have all seen Corey Stewart’s proposals on his website, on local blogs and on facebook.

What have local legislators said as the Corey Stewart Rule of Law Immigration Act was unfurled?

Del. L. Scott Lingamfelter, R- 31st District, said legislators in Richmond are already on the job.

“We actually passed a law before Prince William did that would restrict services to people not legally present in the United States,” Lingamfeltersaid. “I’m very appreciative of Corey Stewart’s encouragement and support and interest in the topic, but he should be assured — as well as the public — that you have lots of people who are solidly engaged on this issue and will continue to be.”
Lingamfelter said Stewart could be of help operating on the local front.

“I think where Corey could really help if he wanted to is to get the Board of County Supervisors to propose legislation in their legislative package,” Lingamfelter said.

Dismissed. I don’t think Del. Lingamfelter liked the Corey Plan. Delegate Jackson Miller weighed in on the subject:

Del. Jackson H. Miller, R-50th District, echoed Lingamfelter in saying that people are already working on illegal immigration legislation.

“Many of us have been working for years in Richmond on illegal immigration reform and we will continue to do so, and we’re glad that Corey is supporting us,” Miller said.

Miller said he was taken aback when he heard about Stewart’s initiative from secondhand sources.

“I was a little surprised that I hadn’t heard from him because this is an issue that I’ve been working on since I went to Richmond,” Miller said. “Since he wants the state to address this, I’m surprised I haven’t heard from him about it.”

Rather than admit his gaffe, Corey talked back and actually appeared to diss the 2 lawmakers:

Stewart said he might not look to a Prince William representativeto introduce his ideas in Richmond.
“We’re going to choose somebody who can be effective in carrying legislation,” Stewart said.

“It doesn’t necessarily have to be a delegate from Prince William County,” Stewart said. “In fact it might be a benefit to have someone from outside the county carry the bill.”

Other areas in the state have issues with illegal immigration, Stewart said.

“Northern Virginia is not the only region with illegal immigration problems,” Stewart said. “Harrisonburg, in particular, Virginia Beach and the Hampton Roads area, and some of the faster growing areas are where you’re going to find the worst illegal immigration problems.”

In case you just missed this very pointed insult, Corey clearly believes he will have to travel outside PW Co.  to carry on his zany idea.  He apparently doesn’t feel his two Republican peers are capable of passing successful legislation. 

Delegate Bob Marshall seemed unsure of Virginia law and has written a letter to the AG for clarification. 

This behavior seems to demonstrate that once again, Stewart cannot be counted on to be a team player. He appears to be hard-wired to have total disregard for his fellow elected officials.  Had he chosen to work with Delegates Miller and Lingamfelter, and include them in his ideas, perhaps some substantive legislation could have been possible, rather than a cut and paste version of the Arizona Law SB 1070 which is a lawsuit magnet.   Corey is the little cheese.  Miller and Lingamfelter are the Big Cheese.

Should we be surprised? We saw him throw several of his fellow supervisors  under the proverbial bus when he handed over emails from them to a local blogger back in 2008 when he was allowing Chief Deane to be called a traitor. Not exactly a trust builder there (on any level).  Additionally, he put these same BOS colleagues on the firing line when he left the county and trumpeted his plans to direct county employees not to do the work necessary to register newly qualified recipients of medicaid. He was going to pass a resolution to direct employees to break federal law!   The other supervisors  knew nothing of this plan either.

Corey Stewart apparently wants our help hunting down illegal aliens. He must be jealous that Arizona is getting more attention than he is. His new initiative, The Rule of Law Campaign, is plastered all over his website and his Facebook page. Too bad it contains lies and could possibly get Virginia sued.

From www.coreystewart.com:

The Rule of Law Campaign Submitted by Corey on Wed, 06/16/2010 – 12:02.

Prince William County’s crackdown on illegal immigration worked: Illegal Aliens fled the county, and the violent crime rate plummeted. It is now time to protect all communities in Virginia from the effects of Illegal Immigration. Please join me in our effort to protect every county and city in Commonwealth by following Prince William County’s and Arizona’s lead and enforce the Rule of Law.

Please join the petition below if you would like your state and local elected officials to support The Virginia Rule of Law Act, which would do the following:

•Enhance Police Powers to Capture, Detain, and help Deport Criminal Aliens
◦Direct Virginia law enforcement officials to ascertain, in any lawful contact, the legal presence of an individual, when practicable.
◦Direct Virginia jails to release criminal aliens to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after serving their sentence.
◦Allow law enforcement officials to arrest illegals without warrant if they have reasonable suspicion that the arrest would make them removable from the United States.
•Virginia Criminal Penalties for Illegal Aliens
◦Make it a violation of Virginia law to fail to complete alien registration documents.
◦Impose harsh penalties for terrorists and illegals caught with illegal drugs and deadly weapons.
•Outlaw Sanctuary Policies
◦Prohibit cities and counties from preventing law enforcement officials from inquiring about legal presence or preventing them from sharing information with ICE.
•Outlaw Illegal Day Laboring and Public Roadside Solicitation
◦Allow law enforcement officials to break up day laboring operations.
◦Prohibit solicitation along all public roads, crippling illegal day labor sites.
•Crackdown on Human Smuggling
◦Prohibit smuggling and human trafficking, especially for sexual slavery.
FULL DRAFT TEXT AVAILALBE SOON

There’s that darn probable cause that Corey tried to push through Prince William County. Let’s see, how would that work exactly?

I am sure that there are people out there who will be rah rah-ing and cheering Corey on. Election time is a little less than a year and a half off and he is getting a head start on it this year. Make no mistake. We have seen it all before.

Stewart would have those not living around  here believe that he single handedly ran off all the ‘illegals.’ Not even. Check with your schools and look at those designated as Hispanic. Not about Hispanics? Don’t even pretend that isn’t what it is all about.

Our violent crime rate plummeted? Not even close. Murders actually went up.

The 2009 UVA survey sheds some light on the topic in the Washington Post.   Note the date: 9/27/09

Over-all citizen approval of how things operate in Prince William has improved from 2007.

“I’m very pleased with the results,” Police Chief Charlie T. Deane said. “I suspect some of the improved perception of what we are doing has had to do with people seeing the reality versus the rhetoric. We try to be fair, lawful and responsible. . . . I’m proud our officers are being received in a better light than when this was initially started.”

Guterbock said the police department’s community outreach on the immigration policy might have helped drive the numbers back up. Another possibility, he said, is that people who were highly dissatisfied have left the county.

The illegal immigration policy could have also affected residents’ trust in government,

which dipped to 58.4 percent last year but rebounded to about 63 percent this year.

Additionally, the PWC Crime Report disputes Stewart’s falsehoods. There was a decrease in domestic violence incidents from 2007 to 2008. (1358 in 2007 and 1256 in 2008)  That is hardly a plummeting violent crime rate. 

Don’t take my word or Corey’s word for the Crime Statistics. Download the Police Department Report 2008 for yourself.      PWC Police Report 2008    Begin about page 19.  Pages 31-32 give specifics for illegal immigrants.

Rule of Law begins at home.  We cannot break the law to enforce Corey’ Rule of Law.

We will continue to monitor the Chairman’s trumpeting of his new plan.  Stewart isn’t going to be able to use immigration twice in the same lifetime to catapult himself into an elected position he wants.

Once again, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, Corey Stewart prevaricated and obfuscated.

A few examples:

1. He didn’t tell Alisyn how many times the Resolution changed from July 7, 2007 until May 1, 2008.

2. He led the viewers to believe that the police could ask for documents based on probable cause. Does Corey still not know that probably cause no longer exists in our Resolution?

3. He stated that violent crimes are down 38%. Not according to PWC crime statistics and he knows this.

4. He was hung (sic) in effigy? I must have missed that one.

5. He stated that 80% of the people of Prince William County support the law and that the UVA survey stated so. I would like to see that little known fact in writing. No such question existed on that survey.

6. He assumed that fewer babies were born to illegal immigrant mothers and stated that as a fact when he had no verifiable proof. Immigration status is not collected at either hospital in the county and therefore he can only assume.

7. We have fewer ESOL classes now? I don’t think so. The nuumber of students enrolled in ESOL dropped slightly at the height of the foreclosure crisis, but returned to an even greater number by FY2008-2009. 

8. He failed to explain the evolution of what happened in PWC. He failed to explain that the Resolution that was passed on July 7, 2007 was not what passed around May 1, 2008. He led Alisyn to believe that whatever we did here fixed all immigration problems. That is simply not the case. He did not say that the status of all those arrested would be checked and he did not mention the 287(g) program. He failed to mention one of the worst housing crashes in the United States happened in PWC. He failed to mention he used  trumped up issues to get himself re-elected. He failed to mention what he did to the Chief of Police. He failed to mention what he did to his supervisor colleagues.

How can he live with himself puffing up like that?  He  let everyone who was listening to Fox News at that hour believe he held the silver bullet.

I felt very ashamed of my county and my state as I listed to something that simply was not the truth. Corey told how he wanted things to be, not how they really were. He misled the people of Arizona.

Liar, Liar, Pants on fire!

Police Department Illegal Immigration Policies

From insidenova.com:

What’s happening in Arizona is exactly what happened in Prince William, but board Chairman Corey Stewart says outcry and criticism shouldn’t dissuade the state from going forth with tough new immigration laws.

“Essentially, we were the test case for what’s going on in Arizona,” said Stewart, R-At-Large. “I can tell you the intensity they’re facing is exactly the intensity the board of county supervisors faced, and it came from several corridors … that essentially tried to threaten the county.”

In late April, Arizona’s Republican governor, Jan Brewer, signed into law new immigration policy giving local law enforcement the authority “to reasonably determine the immigration status of a person involved in a lawful contact [with officials],” according to the summary sheet of S.B. 1070 posted on the state’s website. The lawful contact clause in particular caused concern among civil rights activists who foresaw worst-case scenarios where police would engage in racial profiling and de-mand paperwork proving legal status from, say, pedestrians based on skin color.

Prince William County’s immigration policy, by contrast, states that police broach the issue of legal presence only after “physical custodial arrest,” according to a June 2008 press release from the police department on the main points of enforcement procedures.[bold mine]

Read more…

This Tuesday the PWC BOCS plans to vote on a much watered down ‘Resolution’ (See 10H on the Agenda)

Mr. George Harris gets it. We hope the rest of the BOCS gets it.

George S. Harris’s open letter to the BOCS in News & Messenger May 1 says it all.

LETTER: To the Prince William Board of County Supervisors
Your View
Published: May 1, 2010

I am writing to you to ask you to help this unlearned citizen understand why a resolution is needed by the Chairman Corey Stewart to determine the number of people affected by the expansion of the Medicaid criteria under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. I simply wrote to the Prince William County Department of Social Services and within a few days received a reply from Mr. Dennis E. McFeeley, Divi-sion Chief of Benefits, Employment and Child Care Programs. His telephone number and email address are: Phone: (703) 792-4315 Email: dmcfeeley@pwcgov.org.

By the way, the estimated number is 15,200 of the poorest of the poor.

It would seem to me that Mr. Stewart could simply pick up the telephone and call Mr. McFeeley or Mr. Ric Perez, the acting director of the Department of Social Services, and pose the question he has included in his draft resolution. While I don’t have Mr. Perez’s direct telephone number, the main number is 703-792-7500. I suspect whoever answers the telephone would be more than glad to connect Mr. Stewart with Mr. Perez.

Yes, I agree it would prudent to determine how much the Medicaid expansion will cost Prince William County, but considering that it will be some 14 years before the county must begin cost sharing, any estimation would at best be an onageristic estimate. Again, a telephone call might work.

On the other hand, if Mr. Stewart is using a resolution to stick the board’s collective finger in the federal government’s eye, I strongly recommend against this. We’ve already been made to look the fool too many times.

Therefore, I am left to draw the conclusion that this tempest in a teapot is nothing more than political posturing on Mr. Stewart’s behalf to satisfy his political base and the members of the Tea Party whose meetings he frequents as a speaker. If my conclusion is wrong, would someone be so kind as to let me know?

GEORGE S. HARRIS

Manassas

One has to ask why a resolution is needed when picking up the telephone and asking a few questions solves the same purpose? Could it be that Mr. Stewart is once again grand-standing? Is this his way of attempting to save face after standing on the steps down in Stafford like George Wallace demanding civil disobedience from county employees? (Click to see background material)

Hopefully all the supervisors will see the absurdity of this ‘Resolution’ and will vote NO. Why help Corey Stewart make a fool of himself?

When Localities Take On Immigration
Click the above to listen to the show.

Elena and Alanna apparently had a good time calling Chairman Stewart out on his “inaccuracies” today on the Kojo Nnamdi Show on NPR (WAMU).   Corey Stewart is STILL trying to spin that the resolution, neutered of the “probable cause” mandate, is tougher than the original resolution.  

I believe I recall a certain Chairman saying “over his dead body” would he allow the probable cause mandate to be stricken from the immigration resolution.  Hmmmmm, well, it WAS stricken and he is clearly still walking around, alive and well.   Why on earth did he fight soooo hard if he didn’t mind the probable cause being taken out.  As I recall, Anti-BVBL, along with many other citizens who had spoken out against the resolution, celebrated when the probable cause mandate was stricken from the enforcement language.

PWC Crime Statistics 2009

Prince William County set the trend for Arizona?  That would be us, real trend setters.  On the news tonight on channel 5 news at 6 pm and again at 11 pm , it was announced that all eyes would be on Prince William County because three years ago they enacted a Resolution similar to that which Arizona recently signed into law.  Well, sort of. 

Channel 5 next interviewed chairman of the board of supervisors, Corey Stewart.  Corey told the viewers that it saved lives when illegal immigrants were identified and deported.  He further explained that enforcing immigration laws in PWC has had a very large impact on reducing crime in the county.   He elaborated that our overall crime rate is at a 19 year low. 

The reporter added that of the 2000 arrests for serious crime, 121 of those arrested were illegal aliens.  Those figures certainly don’t seem to support what Corey just said on the news.  In fact, I am curious about where this all time low in 19 years comes from.  What was happening 19 years ago that we had such a huge crime rate?  Corey seems to be cherry picking his crime statistic once again. Just thinking back on the horrific crimes committed in the past year or so in Prince William County, I don’t see how anyone can say that our crime rate is lower for serious crime. Prince William has seen an increase in urban type crimes. I expect Corey will continue his anecdotal account of how things are here in Prince William rather than relying on empirical data gathered from crime statistics.

His fellow supervisors need to call him out on his shoddy reporting. I wish one of them could call channel 5 and repudiate Corey Stewart’s loose and slippery statistics.  On the other hand, perhaps Corey wants to be the next Sheriff Joe.  meanwhile, I wish he would just stick to accurate facts.

The Washington Post has more details.  While Corey is technically correct about the new low in crime, he fails to tell the entire story and he fails to mention the rise in violent crime.   This report can hardly be correlated to illegal immigration.  To do so is a stretch.

Prince William County Crime Reports

A call for anarchy?

From the News & Messenger regarding the local Tea Party Rally yesterday:

Stewart, a Republican, said he will ask his colleagues to approve a resolution that would prevent county employees from implementing new Medicaid regulations when they take effect in 2014.

“That is a public option that increases Medicaid to beneficiaries by more than 40 percent,” Stewart said at a Prince William County TEA Party Patriots rally at the McCoart Administration Center on Thursday.

Stewart, who seemed confident that his resolution will pass, said the county would not provide the benefits until it is compelled to.

“We will not implement those regulations until we are required to do so through injunction, which can only be initiated by the attorney general of the Commonwealth of Virginia,” he told the crowd of about 100.

Additionally, Stewart said he believes the regulations will not bear legal scrutiny.

“I do not believe they are legal,” he said about 2 p.m., when the crowd had dwindled from a high of about 200 at noon when the rally started. “I do not believe they will serve anyone.”

He continued, “I do believe that they will hurt the current beneficiaries of Medicaid—the disabled, the poor children and others—who already have difficulty finding physicians who will treat them on the low reimbursement rate.”

Stewart said the regulations amount to “unfunded mandates” that will cost taxpayers money and divert resources from other areas.

“I don’t think the county should be responsible for administering a federal program,” he said.

Still, Stewart said he didn’t know how thing would shake out legally.

STOP!  Stewart doesn’t know how things will ‘shake out legally?  That might be a real good question to ask before everyone jumps on the bandwagon trying to get re-elected.  Injunctions are orders by a court of law to do or not do something.  When the feds are involved, ‘an injunction’ can also come along with some enforcement  like the National Guard or US Marshalls.   Is that what we want?  Another University of Alamaba situation?

Read more…

In today’s News and Messenger, there is an article entitled “Tourism agency preps for Sesquicentennial” which made for an interesting little read.  PWC chairman of the BOCS did a stand up comedy routine as content for the piece.  Let’s focus on some local news.  First, the article from News and Messenger:

 

Tourism Agency Preps for Sesquicentennial

July 21, 2011 marks the 150th anniversary, or sesquicentennial, of the Civil War’s Battle of Bull Run, and tourism officials planning commemorative events are falling heavy on the theme of peace.

“We want to have a rolling series of events, basically for five years, because this is a national celebration and a state celebration,” the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau interim director, Sharon Cavileer, told Prince William supervisors Tuesday. Plans were to follow the state’s plan for commemoration and show the extent of the Civil War’seffects from a range of perspectives—from civilian to slave to soldier, both Union and Confederate.

“In Prince William, the sesquicentennial is an American legacy of war, peace and reconciliation,” Cavileer said, adding that planned events include a speech from a Nobel peace prize winner and a Peace Jubilee at the Old Courthouse in Manassas. On top of that, the key theme or message of the sesquicentennial is a proposed: “Where the battle began and peace prevails.”

That’s fine, said Chairman Corey Stewart, R-At-large. But less peace and more realism is in order, he said.

“I think we need to work on the message. The Civil War was not about peace. It ended in peace; it had to end in peace,” he said. “If you want to have a Nobel peace prize speaker, that’s okay, I guess. For God’s sake, I hope it’s an American.”

The CVB and sesquicentennial marketing strategists should not “water down” the realities and lessons of the Civil War to the point where it’s forgotten that this was a uniquely American period that ultimately led “to the uniting of the nation so it became the power it is,” Stewart said.

Apparently the chairman objects to all this damn peace floating about and he has done his best to make sure it doesn’t happen.  One glance at the chairman’s’ record will give a bird’s eye view of his distain for peace in local government.  He has fanned the flames during the immigration debate, he shouted anti abortion rhetoric at a V.O.I.C.E. meeting about housing,  insulted vets over joining the Coffee Party, disparaging all the other members in his sweeping generalizations, just to name a few instances where peace in PWC seems unlikely. 

Read more…

Sunday’s News and Messenger had a great article on the Coffee Party entitled Still Brewing.  It featured Bob Settle, Bill Golden and Al Alborn  all sitting outside a Woodbridge Starbucks drinking coffee and explaining   the Coffee Party.  The men spoke  a little about their politics, which were surprisingly centrist and conservative. 

Jonathan Hunley, reporter for the News and Messenger,   apparently wanted to give Corey Stewart, the chairman of the Board of Supervisors,  a chance to clean up his act. He had been unflattering to the Coffee Party the previous week at their kick off meeting.   It didn’t work.  Stewart once again shot himself in the foot.  Poor Corey is running out of feet real quickly:

Prince William Board of County Supervisors Chairman Corey A. Stewart isn’t buying that, however.

He said that if everyone in the Coffee Party was a “middle-of-the-road veteran” such as Alborn, he might have more respect for the group.

But Stewart said Byler and Park are just “ultra-left attention-seekers” who “despise” him and Supervisor John T. Stirrup Jr., who led the county’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

“This is just an ultra-left fringe group,” the Republican said.

Corey, Corey, Corey!  This kind of talk has no political capital.  The Coffee Party isn’t about you or John Stirrup.  The Coffee Party isn’t about Annabel Park or Eric Byler.  The Coffee Party isn’t about the 3 men who were interviewed for the story. 

I find it frightening that the only people Stewart seems to have respect for are ‘middle-of-the-road veterans’.  Does that mean that everyone else is an ultra-left attention seeker, a fruitcake, a nut, or crap? (his descriptors, not mine)

A review of the article will be forthcoming.  Chairman Stewart’s words, meanwhile, deserve to be handled separately.

Why does the Chairman continue to shoot himself in the foot making derogatory remarks about his constituents?  There are a bunch of people out there who see themselves as Coffee Party People.   They do not deserve to be called names, especially by the county Chairman.  This behavior sets a bad precedence.  Do we assume Mr. Stewart is a member of the Tea Party and sees the Coffee Party as competition or do we just assume he doesn’t want to be re-elected?  I can’t vote for anyone who gratuitously calls strangers names, not even knowing who they are.  

Mr. Stewart ought to find out who the people are and go shake their hand.  These are the people who want to be part of shaping their government.  Aren’t those  people the folks  we used to call a PATRIOTS?  What happened to that term?

Nuts?