In recent years, Virginia has been the epicenter for several strong anti-immigration efforts. Harsh measures taken in Prince William County have had wide-ranging effects on the population; even in something is benign as amateur soccer.According to the Washington Post, the Virginia Commission on Immigration will soon send the governor a list of two dozen recommendations. The board worked for over a year on the proposed reforms which mostly consist of helping immigrants instead of penalizing them:
The panel's recommendations include increasing the number of English classes, shortening Medicaid residency requirements and extending in-state tuition to immigrants who meet certain criteria, The Washington Post…reported Monday.Naturally, politicos on both sides of the aisle are critical of the reported suggestions; one Prince William County legislator claimed that “it was pretty clear the fix was in from the beginning.” Yet the commission’s ideas represent a necessary compromise designed to push the immigration debate forward rather than be stuck in petty bickering. The status quo on immigration has been an unmitigated failure. Hopefully, states like Virginia will comprehend that a more proactive approach on immigration is the best way to go.
Image- Christian Science Monitor
Sources- The Latin Americanist, Washington Post, New York Times, UPI
2 comments:
Your first sentence was so loud I couldn't hear the rest of the article. There's a huge difference between immigration and illegal immigration, which is a type of immigration. It's like saying "Virginia is anti-animal" when in fact it's only "anti-snake."
In response to Nick:
I agree that the first paragraph may have been had a harsh tone against what Virginia has done so far. Nevertheless, the author (Erwin) does have a valid point here. Many immigrants are now entering the U.S. to areas that previously have not seen a large influx of immigrants (illegal or not). Without a history of understanding the role immigrants play in a region's economy and social structure - as is found in the traditional immigrant gateway cities such as NYC, Chicago, LA, etc. - there will be conflict and some mild backlash against immigrants, not simply illegals.
Where I will fault the author is in his use of a link to an article about actions taken against illegal immigrants as his example of "anti-immigration efforts". There also needs to be some clarity in this post regarding the difference between the actions taken by the Virginia Commission on Immigration as being PRO-immigrant in terms of helping them integrate to their communities as compared to the link (mentioned above) which outline measures to combat illegal immigration.
One final stat (referenced from one of the many links in this post): Of the 12 million illegal immigrants living in the U.S. (mind you, not all of them are Latino!), approx. 250,000 to 300,000 live in the entire state of Virginia.
I hope this serves as a reminder that illegal immigration is not as big of an issue in Virginia as it may be in other states. Nevertheless, kudos to their legislature for trying to come up with solutions for dealing with their immigrant population rather than relegating them to a lesser-citizen status (as other places have been known to do).
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