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‘Sanctuary City’

“The cost and benefits of illegal aliens do not balance. The cost of cheap labor is anything but.  U.S. sanctuary policies are supported by persons acting individually or by those acting under color of title or law: governors, mayors, elected or appointed governing officials, law enforcement officers, judicial officers who purposely and knowingly fail to obey U.S. immigration laws.  Sanctuary policies shield illegal aliens from rightful detention and/or deportation for violations of federal immigration laws”.

Help Save Hampton Roads is a grassroots organization dedicated to helping preserve our communities and to protect them from the negative effects related to the presence of illegal aliens. We believe that illegal immigration is not a federal government issue alone. Federal law enforcement does not have the man power   and lacks the federal funding needed to keep up with the overwhelming number of illegal aliens in the United States today. However, much can be done at the local and state levels including enforcement of current laws and regulations to alleviate the many problems caused by the growing population of illegal aliens.

Hampton Roads is the tourist destination of Virginia. Our economics is driven by the hotel/motel/restaurant industries, building, landscaping, etc. Verification of employment often goes unchecked.

Small business owners are being forced out of business. They are unable to compete with businesses that hire cheap labor. Job displacement among the blacks and whites is paramount. Summer jobs for college students are scarce.

Local law enforcement administrations are resistant to participate in the Immigration and Customs Enforcement 287(g) Program. Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act provides the legal authority for local and state enforcement to investigate, detain, and arrest aliens on civil and criminal grounds.

On the statewide level, the growing immigration crisis and the lack of strong legislative action in Richmond, has prompted an increasing number of local governments throughout Virginia to take action to defend their communities. Prince William County has gained statewide and national recognition for their crackdown on the growing illegal alien population. The counties of Loudoun and Herndon have successfully adopted anti-illegal policies.

The 2009 General Assembly session is fast approaching, and Help Save Hampton Roads encourages every citizen to contact your delegate and senator to let them know that under no uncertain circumstances will we tolerate the presence of illegal aliens in the Commonwealth of Virginia any longer. It is purely unacceptable.

Over the past few years, possible anti-illegal legislation has been swept under the carpet, and many of those that have overwhelmingly made it out of the House have been virtually stonewalled by the Senate. Several of those members in the Senate represent Hampton Roads – Republicans and Democrats. Again, this is purely unacceptable.

Big businesses, lobbyists and human rights activists court our elected officials in their efforts to promote their own self-interests i.e. greed and cheap labor, etc. Their interests appear to hold much greater clout.

Several states throughout the United States have been very successful this year legislatively passing anti-illegal alien legislation and saying, “enough is enough” -  North Carolina, South Carolina and Missouri - to name a few. We want Virginia to be among them.

In 2009, all House seats in Richmond are up for election. It will also be the time to elect a governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general. In 2010, all Senate seats are open for election. The illegal alien issue must be a top priority, and every member of the General Assembly must be held accountable.

Help Save Hampton Roads supports the following initiatives, which need to be embraced on a bipartisan basis and with a very strong emphasis being placed on the Senate:

State Level

  • Enforce a statewide ban on the use of illegal alien workers by licensed Virginia businesses (“The right of state and local governments to sanction business entities that employ unauthorized alien workers, by suspending their business licenses, have received two major endorsements from federal courts. These recent decisions in Missouri & Arizona confirm important legal doctrines that favor state and local enforcement in employment, contracting, public services, and related areas” ~ Immigration Reform Law Institute).
  • Bar state and local contracts to firms found to employ illegal aliens and prohibiting illegal aliens from receiving public benefits.
  • Mandate that the Governor shall enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Homeland Security for a cooperative agreement or 287(g) agreement.
  • Prohibit in-state tuition for illegal aliens.
  • Prohibit any form of state funding to Virginia counties, cities or town providing sanctuary policies to illegal aliens.

Local Level

  • City Councils request that all contractors and vendors certify that their employees are legal hires.
  • City Councils enter into a 287(g) agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.