Immigration Advocates Need A Reality Check

Here in its entirety is a piece from the August 11, 2005 editorial page of the Washington Post:

Mr. Kilgore's Nativism

"With a gratuitous blast at illegal immigrants, Jerry W. Kilgore, the Republican candidate for governor in Virginia, has injected a nativist note into the campaign. Struggling in the latest statewide poll and evidently grasping for an issue to excite his conservative base and make inroads in Northern Virginia, Mr. Kilgore injected himself into a local dispute in the town of Herndon, in western Fairfax County: He announced his opposition to the town's efforts to establish a publicly funded gathering spot for day laborers, many of them illegal immigrants, who work in the area's booming construction industry. In Mr. Kilgore's view, providing such a site for Hispanic laborers, who currently await work in the parking lot of a convenience store, would 'undercut our laws and our stability by rewarding those who . . . are in this country illegally.'

"Well, we certainly wouldn't want to see Herndon's day laborers subvert Virginia's stability. But it's hard to see how the commonwealth is safer or how its laws are more secure, with the workers clamoring for construction jobs and disrupting traffic in front of a 7-Eleven, as they do now.

"Then again, if we read Mr. Kilgore correctly, he'd like to see all undocumented immigrants given the boot. As Virginia's attorney general, the title he held until earlier this year, he supported legislation that would give local police the authority to detain illegal immigrants after they've been arrested for another crime -- loitering, say -- and turn them over to federal officials. Mr. Kilgore seems to care little that police officers, who lack the training, time and resources to act as immigration agents, are opposed to the idea; they're actually busy with local crime. Nor does he explain how Northern Virginia, which has virtually no unemployment, would furnish itself with construction crews, landscapers, janitors, child-care workers and short-order cooks and fill dozens of other positions in the absence of the very immigrants he so badly wants to deport.

"The federal government's failure to seal the borders and enforce immigration laws is a legitimate subject for debate, and a number of states have been forced to deal with the consequences of that failure. But Mr. Kilgore is not adding a constructive voice to the debate. He is simply on the prowl for a wedge issue, and hopes he's found one in immigrant-bashing. Uninvited, he stepped into the dispute in Herndon several days after a conservative radio talk show host, broadcasting from Sacramento, urged listeners to deluge Herndon Town Hall with so many phone calls protesting the proposed day-laborer site that they would "melt the switchboard." In an ugly response, listeners did just that, peppering their calls and e-mails with expletives denouncing the immigrants and the town officials who would help them. Herndon officials were forced to unplug the phones.

"Given the passions unleashed in this dispute, perhaps the temptation to fan the flames with a naked appeal for votes was simply too strong for Mr. Kilgore. But he should have summoned the strength to resist it. Virginia's most pressing problems -- including transportation, education and health care -- will require all of the next governor's energies. It would be nice if candidates for governor showed they could focus on the big issues rather than play politics with bitter and emotional local disputes."

A gratuitous blast at illegal immigrants? Does the Washington Post editorialist have any personal knowledge of the situation in Herndon? Has the author of the above editorial had any personal experience with what residents of Northern Virginia have to put up with, not only at day-laborer loitering sites but also in long-established residential neighborhoods?

The following quotation from an anonymous commenter--who has personal experience as to the impact of immigrants in an established neighborhood--appeared at "The American Street And Illegal Immigration":

"In northern Virginia, it is more than just five or six [people] in one house. Think about 19 people in an 1000 sq ft rambler with one kitchen and one bathroom. Wall to wall beds. That was not in my neighborhood, but in my development.

"We original neighbors in my neighborhood believe the house across the street is now a 'safe house' for illegals. We watch them come and go - many, many people. They have constructed a building in the back yard - which the county supervisor inspected and stated that, in his judgement, it was for living quarters, because of the doors, insulation, etc.

"Those people moved in on a Saturday. Tuesday morning there was a wide band of red paint spray painted the full length of the street-side of my husband's white pickup. We have lived here for more than 30 years without incident.

"There are always 14 vehicles, at least three of which are commercial, parked on the street in front of the house which is situated on a slow curve, giving more room than other homes have for street parking. AND, there are two people who, in the morning, park their cars in front of that house - one person gets into one of the white commercial vans. The second person walks to a house two doors down the street and joins another person in a commercial vehicle at that house and they drive away. Of course, one person who drives the second van in front of my house lives in the 'illegal safe house.' I reported the first white commercial van to the president of the company of the business. One white 'signed' van was promptly replaced with two 'no sign' white commercial vans. How is that for cooperation?

"A few days ago, my daughter and I arrived home in one vehicle followed by her fiance in another vehicle to find no parking places in front of our house - on our side of the street! People were, of course, standing around talking in the yards of the house across the street and next door. Since there was a party next door, I asked if they knew who the cars belonged to. They moved one so we could park one of our vehicles on the street in front of our house!!! We pulled two vehicles as far as we could into the driveway so that my husband could get most of his truck into the drive when he arrived. I called him on his cell to let him know the situation and to ask that he not cause a scene. We do have to live here until we are ready to sell to some more of their kind.

"AND, before my neighbor sold, she took her son to kindergarten orientation in the neighborhood. The staff at the school HUNTED for an English welcome package. After some time, they thrust a Spanish package in his hands and told him to enjoy. My neighbor was able to get the county to agree to enroll her son in the school in the neighborhood they were moving into several miles away. She transported him daily for eight months - more than 20 miles.

"That is the joy of living around illegal immigrants. They come in and 'slumify' the neighborhood. As we drive into the neighborhood, daily, we see more junk added to the yards of our wonderful neighbors - welcomed by the government - (who I am sure helped them buy their house!!!!!)"

The anonymous commenter, who has such personal observations, has clearly delineated the reality in Northern Virginia. And based on the second commentary, I definitely see an education issue and likely a health issue as well.

Certainly the hordes to which the commenter refers are in violation of local zoning laws. Or don't the local zoning laws apply to certain residents of a neighborhood?

Via email, the following comment from Bob shows that problems with illegal immigration are not restricted to Herndon, Virginia:

"I think this has been festering for the last 40 years and needs to be addressed. When local law officers catch a load of illegals, the Feds will not pick them up. Tennessee has a growing problem with Mexicans illegally working in the state. We have brought this on by having the 'wealth redistribution theory' welfare system that has been pushed by the Liberal Democrats ever since LBJ and his 'Great Society' programs. It grows like a cancer and no one realizes what is happening until it becomes terminal to our way of life. This is one of the reasons that I am a conservative, active, Republican."

Would someone please tell the editors of the Washington Post to read the above commentary penned by Anonymous and the note from Bob? The editors need to get in touch with reality!

Note: For NY Girl's commentary on immigration, go here. Her article provides more evidence that the problem in Northern Virginia is more than a local problem. In fact, the matter of illegal immigration may be the hot-button issue of the 2008 National Election.