Supervisors absent from illegal immigration meeting
By Jason Jacks
No members of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors attended a community meeting Aug. 26 on an illegal immigration resolution the board passed in July. The resolution may deny public services to those in the country illegally.Held at Sterling's Christ the Redeemer Catholic Church, which has a large Hispanic/Latino congregation, the meeting was organized by La Voz of Loudoun to educate the immigrant community on the controversial resolution and the Sheriff's Office's plans to enforce federal immigration laws.
"Political confrontation after a church service seems wrong," said Supervisor Eugene Delgaudio (R-Sterling), on why he did not attend the meeting. Delgaudio proposed the illegal immigration resolution now being reviewed by county staff.
The Washington Post's Living in Loco blog had reported that Delgaudio may have attempted to persuade the Catholic Diocese of Arlington to not allow the La Voz event to take place at Christ the Redeemer.
In an interview, Delgaudio denied doing this, but he did say that he voiced his concern about the meeting to at least one church leader at Christ the Redeemer.
While no supervisors attended the meeting, Loudoun County School Board Chairman Robert DuPree and Potomac School Board representative John Stevens were there. However, the only elected official to speak was J. Warren Geurin, Sterling's representative on the School Board.
"In the school system, we do not verify immigration status," Geurin said. His comments elicited a round of applause from the several hundred people in attendance.
He also urged the parents of the school system's immigrant students to take English as a Second Language, or ESL, classes. Of immigrant students, he said about 4,000 in Loudoun took these classes last school year.
Loudoun zoning officials also addressed the audience. Juanita Toriello, a zoning inspector, said the most common infractions she encounters are abandoned cars, commercial vehicles parked at homes, homeowners operating businesses out of their houses without a permit and homes with more than one kitchen. This changes the designation of a home from single-family to multi-family, she said.
Presentations were also made on immigrant's rights in the workplace and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's 287(g) program, which gives training to state and local police on federal immigration laws.
During questions and answers, Republican Loudoun sheriff candidate Greg Ahlemann, a former Loudoun deputy, said police can detain someone for something as simple as "running a red light" if they are not carrying identification.
He also recounted an incident of an illegal immigrant from Sterling who last year hit and killed a Herndon man with his car. The driver, Jose Santos Sibrian Espinoza, had been cited by police at least a dozen times for traffic violations before the incident.
"I support th 287(g) program," Ahlemann said.
After Ahlemann's comments, Christ the Redeemer's Father C. Donald Howard reminded Ahlemann that the meeting was not a political forum and asked him not to speak again.
Also during the questions and answers, one man said he was concerned Loudoun may deny illegal immigrants access to county libraries and swimming pools, while another scolded Loudoun leaders for the resolution.
"We are first-class citizens," the man said, switching between Spanish and English. "We have rights. At least give us some respect."
On Sept. 22, the Arlington Diocese's Peace and Justice Commission with host a daylong conference on immigration at Saint Anthony of Padua Parish in Falls Church. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick is scheduled to give a speech.
Contact the reporter at jjacks@timespapers.com