Upcoming Immigration Dilemmas

Chesterfield County:
Board of Supervisors

Will the illegal imigration debate impact the county?

While the issue continues to go unresolved in the national debate, illegal immigration remains a major issue for growing localities like Chesterfield. Other Virginia counties, Prince William in particular, are taking the issue head on. Local governments are being forced to face up to the ever increasing demands on its public services not only by those contributing to the very systems with their tax dollars, but also the demand by those that are not. So-called "illegal" or as many liberals continue to call them "undocumented" immigrants appear to be caught in the middle as rising costs for services strain localities. Many local governments may be forced to raise taxes or raise the costs of the services themselves in order to meet the demands upon the systems.

That said, many localities have sought to analyze these issues largely due to the national debate and look at how "illegal" immigration is impacting such things as social services, health services, and education.

Local governments are behind the eight ball. While most Amercians see the whole debate as a "fairness" issue, there are many well-funded organizations working to keep the status quo on immigration. These organizations have many weapons in their arsenal, not withstanding Supreme Court rulings that basically prohibit the States from exceeding its authorities regarding immigration because it is supposed to be the domain of the federal government to deal with such issues. This groups also use the Fourteenth Amendements equal protection clause as means of demanding that the children of illegal immigrants are guaranteed the same public education as everyone else. Here in lies the problem.

Many of the systems that are impacted the most are those that localities have to fund primarily within their respective budgets. Counties growing as fast as Chesterfield may or may not be as impacted by the growing numbers of illegals as a percentage of the population, but politically need to get every dollar out of its systems possible to support its communities, otherwise may be faced with the not so polular proposition of raising taxes.

This was the state of affairs in California in 1994 with its Proposition 187. Largely supported by 59% of the voting population the law was enacted, then went through a lengthly legal process while in "restrained" status before Gov. Gray Davis who opposed it was elected and managed to kill the bills appeal in the courts. Though the measure failed to reach law in the end, it identified just how a large unparticpating populations can impact a states ability to provide essential services.

In this case as in any locality for that matter, I can't see how it is acceptable to allow individuals to reap the benefits of a system they do not particpate in. I'm not heartless. I believe that emergency services should always be provided regardless of status but let me give you an example that our society has to deal with everyday:

A young man and his wife here in Chesterfield have no insurance and have a combined income of about thirty five thousand dollars a year from working in the reataurant business and are pregnant with their first child. Again no insurance Since they are not identified as needy by health care standards they get no help with costs with the delivery and at the end of the day are left with over ten thousand dollars in medical expenses to pay for.

Unfortunately for the couple they were not born outside the United States, did not have green card or no papers at all because had they the result would have been quite different. You see, illegal immigrants and their families have routinely taken advantage of a system that treats their condition as somehow greater than that of the citizen who is struggling to merely get by.
It is not uncommon for illegals to be granted free servcies, whether medical or not, at the expense of the State or County and yet you have legal citizens being buried in debt for the same circumstances. This here in lies the problem; Amercians are realizing that illegals are not being granted "equal" protection but a being granted access to conditons of service that legal citizens are not. Sure, legal citizens can get coded at a teaching hospital like MCV and the State picks up the tab, but what about in cases where those services are not available.

What about the overwhelming overcrowding of school systems. A county is left having to provide public education to both illegal and legal citizens and must find a way to keep funding the school system. A County like Chesterfield may have the means to raise such revenues, but what of the rural counties? Is a county destined to have to grow for supporting sake or can it be allowed to grow as its population desires. Fact remains, a county is bound to provide primary and secondary education to everyone. University level education gets a pass. Evidently for profit endeavors are excluded from this type of equal protection since you earn your way in.

Chesterfield has been studying the impacts of illegal immigration. The results of said study are not yet fully realized. While counties such as Prince William and Fairfax are pressed with an every growing illegal population, I hope that Chesterfield does not wait until the storm before acting. You see Chesterfield and the City of Richmond have significant populations and these may be the likely choice of relocation should the NVA area unite in a strong stand against illegal immigration.

However controversial, this should be part of any debate over Chesterfields future. It is this citizens hope that we organize our law enforcement agencies in coordination with ICE and identify the "criminals" we have already in our jails first and under the State law ascertain their status and if "illegal" then turn them over for their hearing through ICE and eventual deportation.

Its one thing to allow illegals to remain and reap the benefits of our systems and yet another to allow an illegal who has been found guilty in a court of law of committing a crime to do so. If a person is identified as an illegal why should are tax dollars go to provide his jail term. The individual in my estimation should be turned over to authorites quickly and given to the federal authorities since they are tasked with dealing with the issue.