Libraries Examine Policies As Two Counties Target Illegals
Following Congress’s failure to pass the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act in June, two counties in Virginia have taken steps to limit illegal immigrants’ access to public services. Resolutions passed in July by Prince William and Loudoun County supervisors could affect library circulation policies, although agencies in both counties—including schools, parks, hospitals, housing, sheriffs’ offices, and employment agencies—are scrambling to find out whether the new directives conflict with federal and state laws and regulations, the July 18 Washington Post reported.
Administrators in both counties must report back to county officials on any services that can legally be denied to anyone residing in the country unlawfully. Loudoun County Public Library Assistant Director Linda Holtslander told American Libraries that the county “asked all of its departments to examine how they serve their populations, and in our case that’s the requirements we have in place for people to get library cards.” The supervisors then will decide on how to proceed when they meet again in September.
Virginia Dorkey, assistant director at Prince William Public Library, said that the library “has 90 days to investigate what its options are. It’s quite complicated, and senior staff met for the first time on July 19 to begin to look at all of our procedures.”
Supervisor John Stirrup (R-Gainesville), who proposed the Prince William County resolution that passed July 10, said in the July 11 Culpeper Star Exponent that no single nationality or ethnicity is a target. Supervisor Eugene Delgaudio (R-Sterling) introduced the Loudoun County resolution July 17, explaining that undocumented people are creating an environment of “economic hardship and lawlessness,” the July 17 Loudoun Times-Mirror reported. Lending political support to both resolutions is Help Save Virginia, a group that opposes illegal immigration and has chapters in both Loudoun and Prince William Counties.
Kathleen Walker, president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said in the July 14 Los Angeles Times that several chapters of her group had looked at the resolutions and would closely monitor any enforcement actions that might result in legal challenges. The Pew Hispanic Center estimates that some 250,000 illegal immigrants live in Virginia, up from 50,000 in 1996.
Posted July 20, 2007.
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