The first legal challenge to Prince William County“s attempt to limit public services to illegal aliens was filed in federal court yesterday by a group of lawyers and a national organization that advocates for illegals.
“This ordinance, which expresses the worst instincts of a few in the county, is destroying the basic fabric of community life,” said Cesar Perales, president of the New York City-based Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund.
The lawsuit is being filed on behalf of the Woodbridge Workers” Committee and 21 residents, including illegal aliens, and states that the changes in Prince William would subject residents to unnecessary government intrusion and would violate their right to equal protection under the law. The complaint also argues that the county”s policies usurp federal responsibility.
The organization, along with District-based law firms Howrey LLP and the Washington Lawyers” Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, filed the complaint in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria and will provide free legal services to the plaintiffs.
Prince William County officials in July approved a resolution to limit public services to illegal aliens. The resolution also orders county police to check the immigration status of a detainee if they have probable cause to think the detainee violated immigration laws.
Eduardo Ferrer, a lawyer with Howrey, said the policy “allows police to use race, color and ethnicity” to question a person’s immigration status.
“It leads to discrimination and harassment,” he said.
County officials said yesterday that they are ready to defend the new policies, which they say help relieve financial burdens on jails and schools.
Chairman Corey A. Stewart of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors said officials anticipated the lawsuit and are confident that the resolution is legal.
“We are absolutely confident that the county”s crackdown on illegal immigration is legally sound and will withstand any challenge in court,” said Mr. Stewart, at-large Republican.
He said the resolution was crafted from information gathered by several county agencies, including the attorney general”s office, to ensure it was legally sound.
A study found that illegal aliens in Prince William jails cost the county roughly $3 million a year, he said, and that illegals put a “huge but impossible to quantify” strain on the county school system.
Five local jurisdictions in recent months have addressed the issue of whether localities are responsible for enforcing federal immigration laws.
In July, Loudoun County joined Prince William in passing resolutions in favor of local enforcement of immigration laws.
However, Arlington County three weeks ago enacted a resolution that highlighted enforcement of immigration laws as a solely federal responsibility. Last week, D.C. officials passed a similar resolution, and Tuesday night, Alexandria city officials did the same.
The New York nonprofit group assisting in the lawsuit receives government funding and has been involved in the immigration debate in several municipalities.
In 2005, the most recent year for which tax forms were available yesterday, showed that the group received $205,437 in government grants and brought in $1.8 million in total revenue.
The group filed a similar lawsuit in Hazelton, Pa., when lawmakers attempted to crack down on employers and landlords who deal with illegal aliens. A federal judge this summer ruled the city”s actions unconstitutional. The nonprofit also was instrumental in having a similar ordinance rescinded in Riverside, N.J., and helped six day laborers in Mamaroneck, N.Y., file a successful federal lawsuit last year accusing village officials of harassment.
Also yesterday, Delegate David B. Albo, Fairfax Republican, said he wants Alexandria and Arlington to clarify whether their public statements mean that they intend to ignore state law or do not plan to strengthen local ordinances aimed at undocumented aliens.
“If they passed those resolutions, it makes me wonder if they are following the law,” he said.
Mr. Albo ushered a proposal through the General Assembly in 2005 that Gov. Mark Warner, a Democrat, signed into law denying illegal aliens non-emergency public benefits, including access to Medicaid, welfare and local health care services.
Virginia law reads: “No person who is not a United States citizen or legally present in the United States shall receive state or local public assistance … except for state or local public assistance that is mandated by federal law.”
Illegals of any age still are eligible for such emergency aid as immunizations, and localities also must abide by a Supreme Court ruling that illegal aliens cannot be denied a public education.
As a result, Mr. Albo is questioning the Alexandria resolution that states: “Beyond what is required by state and federal law, the city and its various agencies will neither make inquiries about nor report on the citizenship of those who seek the protection of its laws or the use of its services.”
Mr. Albo said he is sending a letter asking Alexandria officials to follow state law, and will ask the legislature whether localities across the state are ignoring the law.
Attorney General Robert F. McDonnell”s office yesterday said it is “researching” the penalties for a locality that ignores state law.
• Gary Emerling and Seth McLaughlin contributed to this report.
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