Prince William sees exodus of Hispanics

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Months after Prince William County began one of the country's toughest crackdowns on illegal immigrants, officials and residents report signs that substantial numbers of people have left the county, particularly from Hispanic neighborhoods.

Dave Whitlow, town manager of Dumfries, said officials started noticing the change a few months ago when they canvassed communities popular among Hispanic families and found roughly 165 residences vacant among 1,600 houses and town houses. Shopkeepers and teachers of English as a second language also have noticed a drop-off.

"We are having many more leaving," said Mr. Whitlow, who could not estimate what percentage of those leaving were in the United States illegally. "It's been just in the past few months."

In July, the Board of County Supervisors unanimously agreed to have the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) train six police officers and one resident for a Criminal Alien Unit.

The detail began enforcement March 1 and is assisting officers who find probable cause that a suspect in a crime is in the country illegally. Before then, officers were not authorized to make arrests for illegal immigration.

Board Chairman Corey A. Stewart said this week he was not surprised about signs that illegal immigrants were leaving.

"There's no question the police have had the effect," said Mr. Stewart, a Republican who is planning to run for lieutenant governor.

"The message that we are sending is: 'If you are an illegal alien, you are not welcome in Prince William County.' Time surely will show illegal aliens are leaving the county," said Mr. Stewart.

Jason D. Grant, spokesman for the Prince William's Department of Economic Development, said the county has not seen signs of an economic downtown as a result of the crackdown, but officials, merchants and residents said changes are obvious.

OfficialsinDumfries— a town of roughly 5,000 residents at the southern tip of Prince William —said about 10 percent of housing units in the town are for sale or in foreclosure.