Local Enforcement Is Working in Virginia
Attrition through enforcement is working in Prince William County, Virginia, and there are facts to prove it. According to Corey Stewart, chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors, the county has experienced measurable benefit from its participation in the ICE 287(g) program.
And an adjoining county is not happy about it.
Speaking to a local political group, Stewart said that, In 2006, 21 percent of the county’s prisoners were illegal immigrants. Of the county’s nine murders in 2007, five were committed by illegal aliens. To date, the county has transferred to federal custody over 1,000 prisoners and arrestees. As a result:
The overall crime rate has dropped by 19 percent;
The dollar amount of hospital services to indigents has dropped significantly;
The number of births to uninsured women not on Medicaid dropped by 500, or approximately 40 percent, saving the county millions;
The number of students in “English for Speakers of Other Languages” (ESOL) programs has decreased;
Home sales are up by 116 percent over last year.
Nearby Fairfax County isn’t fairing as well. Crime has increased by 22 percent, and enrollment in ESOL programs has increased. A number of Fairfax County residents complained that Prince William’s enforcement had created a de facto “sanctuary city” in Fairfax.
