It wasn’t a total repeal, but the Prince William Board of Supervisors did modify a key provision of the so-called “Rule of Law” Resolution last night:
The Prince William County supervisors abolished a key part of the county’s illegal-immigration policy last night by directing police officers to question criminal suspects about their immigration status only after they have been arrested.
In October, the Board of County Supervisors directed officers to check the legal status of crime suspects, no matter how minor the offense, if they think the person might be in the country unlawfully.
“The basic policy is fundamentally the same. We just changed the way it’s implemented,” Supervisor Martin E. Nohe (R-Coles) said. “We want to give officers discretion in the field to use their judgment about when they ask and when they don’t. This allows them to make their own call.”
He said less-aggressive street enforcement limits the county’s risk of a lawsuit.
Chairman Corey A. Stewart (R-At Large) said the change will not amount to any “appreciable difference in the number of people arrested.”
“Every single person who is arrested will have their immigration status checked,” he said. “Officers will continue to have the discretion to check the status of anyone detained by them, even for minor infractions.”
The board unanimously supported changing course after slashing $3.1 million from its budget to install video cameras in police cars to enforce the county’s illegal-immigration policy. Police said they needed cameras to protect officers from accusations of racial profiling.
At the very least, this directs the attention where it has belonged all along — on people who are here illegally and commit crimes. Those are the people I’m worried about, the guy who’s putting shingles on the new house going up two lots away from me.
