Raw Virginia: http://9500liberty.blogspot.com/

The following is a letter to the editor responding to an article about the 9500 Liberty Project - See blog post "Nativism on Film: The 9500 Liberty Project" from November 3, 2007.


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Stirring a Melting Pot in Prince William
Washington Post
Saturday, November 17, 2007; A16

The Nov. 3 front-page story "Raw Look at Immigration Crucible" described the attempt of filmmakers Annabel Park and Eric Byler to deepen the debate in Prince William County on illegal immigration.

During the past few months, this issue has been promoted as a "crisis" by a county politician, but the debate has been based on no credible, objective information. Instead, it has been an attempt to elicit negative emotions from the residents in a way that divides the community and garners votes for the politician.

Part of this nation's economy has been based on the labor of undocumented workers for decades, if not centuries. Would this have continued for so long if it were not beneficial? We have seen no cost-benefit analysis of the current situation.

It is well documented that it takes three generations for assimilation to occur in immigrant families, yet people are now clamoring for instant assimilation. We have been given no objective information to support this expectation for recent immigrants, illegal or otherwise.

Whenever someone sets out to stir people up based solely on negative feelings, the only one who benefits is the instigator. Ms. Park and Mr. Byler are exposing this issue for what it is, and I applaud their effort.

MARGARET GRIFFIN

Manassas

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/16/AR2007111601829_pf.html

image: taken from Liberty by Peter Max http://images.artnet.com/artwork_images/428/216424t.jpg

A Safe Place in Virginia

What makes Arlington Virginia different from Loudon County? Is it really because the immigrants that have settled there came from higher socio-economic backgrounds? Have the increasing real estate values countered the usual fear that "the neighborhood will be ruined?"

It's worth studying what makes one county xenophobic and another realistic...


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I

mmigrants Haven't Worn Out The Welcome Mat in Arlington
By Pamela Constable
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 15, 2007; A01



When nearby counties began trying to drive out illegal immigrants this summer, Arlington said it would treat everyone with "dignity and respect, regardless of immigration status."

Other counties felt overwhelmed by immigrants, but Arlington officials said they would happily provide them with every service allowed by law.

After three decades of working to make foreigners feel welcome, Arlington has good reason to pointedly reaffirm this philosophical embrace. More than one in four residents is a first- or second-generation immigrant, yet the county boasts low crime and unemployment rates. School test scores are high, and newcomers interact peaceably with fifth-generation residents. That success results in part from the county's history of attracting a gradual, diverse stream of foreigners and in part from its strong efforts to help integrate them in the community.

Still, commercial development and rising real estate prices are making Arlington less affordable to many new immigrants, and school officials and business owners report that a sense of fear is beginning to filter in.

"The attitude has always been: They're here. They're part of the community. Let's help them succeed," said Chris Zimmerman, a longtime County Board member. He said his children attended schools with classmates from dozens of countries. "They got something from those relationships that you can't teach in a curriculum or show in test scores," he said, "something that will benefit them their entire lives."

The origins and evolution of immigrant communities in Arlington, a compact county of 200,000 where public school students speak 120 languages, have sowed economic success and social goodwill. Counties such as Prince William and Loudoun have faced a recent wave of Hispanic immigrants, many poorly educated and some illegal, but Arlington has received a more manageable and diverse flow, beginning with Vietnamese refugees who arrived in the late 1970s with extensive federal aid.

The county had more time and resources to study and meet immigrant needs. Arlington pioneered in teaching English to foreigners of all ages, made business licenses and loans accessible to immigrant enterprises, hired bilingual teachers and police, and established social services in ethnic enclaves.

This approach helped contain problems that festered elsewhere, including Latino gang violence and public loitering by day laborers looking for work.

Some immigrants became pillars of Arlington's cultural and economic life. One was Nguyen Van Thoi, a Vietnamese refugee and prisoner of war who arrived in 1978, opened a restaurant called Nam Viet and expanded to six eateries before he died of cancer in 2005. His eldest son now manages the family businesses, and his widow hosts an annual gathering of former POWs.

"Arlington always embraced us. I don't think we would have been able to flourish as much anyplace else," said the son, John Nguyen, 31. Thoi's restaurants benefited from small-business loans and tax incentives, and his children assimilated rapidly through county schools. Nguyen said about 400 people, including Arlington officials, attended his father's funeral. "More than anything, that tells you what this county is about," he said.

Waves of immigrants followed the Vietnamese, including thousands of refugees from conflicts in the Horn of Africa and Central America. They were attracted by Arlington's location, affordable housing, open-minded reputation and well-endowed school system, which kept up with the flow by expanding programs to boost the newcomers' skills, ambitions and sense of belonging.

Today, Arlington students consistently score high in English-based testing. At Gunston Middle School, eighth-grade geography students discuss the meaning of "assimilation" and "culture," exchanging examples of their native food, clothing and language. Science students conduct experiments while being taught simultaneously in English and Spanish.

"We're constantly trying new ways to keep them focused and engaged," Principal Margaret Gill said. Activities include homework clubs, brochures and parenting classes. "They aren't immune to negative headlines, but there are no barriers here. We see every child as potentially college-bound."

For immigrants who cannot keep up in high school or are too old to attend, the Arlington Mill Community Center provides free crash-course adult learning. This fall, students in the world history class include clowning Central American teenagers, tired South Asian night-shift workers and a gracious Lebanese woman fluent in French.

"The teachers here care whether we understand, and they even ask our opinions," said Huguette Assaf, 52, the immigrant from Beirut. "This is very different from what happens back home."

Assaf also said local residents had taken time to help her as a newcomer. "They hear my accent, and I hear theirs," she said. "It is slow, but people are patient."

Immigrants have benefited from the county's being a bastion of liberal Democratic activism -- not unlike Takoma Park, a self-proclaimed "sanctuary city" for illegal immigrants. Many native Arlingtonians have international experience, including government travel and stints in the Peace Corps. Residents of North Arlington, which is more affluent and has fewer immigrants than South Arlington, appear just as proud of the county's reputation.

Hispanics have a champion in Walter Tejada, a U.S. citizen from El Salvador who was elected to the County Board in 2003. Tejada, who was reelected this month, said one of his priorities is to preserve Arlington's inclusive spirit. Illegal immigration, a burning election issue in other counties, was virtually unmentioned in that race.

Over the years, Arlington's immigrant population has shifted with the economic tides. Latin American families saved their money and bought townhouses in Herndon. Whole blocks of Asian shops moved to Fairfax. Lately, smaller groups have arrived from Mongolia and the former Soviet Union.

Today, the social and governmental welcome for foreign newcomers remains warm, but the economic reception is becoming colder. Along the apartment-lined bus routes where immigrants flocked for years, such as Clarendon Boulevard and Columbia Pike, new commercial corridors are pricing them out.

"It's really sad to see," said Hailu Dama, 50, who owns an Ethiopian restaurant and bakery on Columbia Pike. "Arlington was always a wonderful place for immigrants to integrate. They went the extra mile to help businesses like mine, and in one neighborhood, 16 or 17 countries would be represented. But now, with real estate prices and property taxes going through the roof, it is killing a little bit of that diversity."

There are also signs that the chilling effects of new policies elsewhere are beginning to be felt in Arlington. At Arlington Mill school, officials said they had received many calls this summer asking whether applicants had to bring proof of residency. And at El Rancho Migueleno restaurant, owner Oscar Amaya said his business had plummeted.

"Arlington is supposed to be totally safe for immigrants, but people are getting scared here, too," Amaya said. "The economy is good, the people are friendly, and the police got rid of the gangs. But there is a feeling of insecurity now, and people are talking about leaving. I want to tell them, 'Come back. Arlington is different.' But something bigger is happening, and I worry it is happening here, too."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/14/AR2007111402322_pf.html

Not Everything is Bad in Virginia

It must have seemed like lightening struck when the Arlington County Board "rebuked" the recent anti-immigrant ordinances being established in northern Virginia.



How About Human Dignity and Respect?

Arlington County Stands Apart

While Prince William County and others in Virginia are showing us that many people in the state wish immigrants would disappear. Arlington County is taking a different approach. I wonder if the Arlington County Board being all Democrats has anything to do with it? If that is true, does that mean that only Democrats can be reasonable regarding controversial issues? I hope not. I would like to think that Republicans are really nice people and want the best for our country. But as I watch the U.S. Senate this week, I am not so sure. With the Republicans basically blocking almost all of the amendments -- it obvious something is wrong.

When the vote for the DREAM ACT comes up, I hope they are able to retain some of their desire for justice and fairness. Let's hope.


P.S. Its a nice thing to learn that Arlington County has had a record low crime rate as immigration has increased. I hope someone notices.

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Arlington Condemns Region's Immigrant Crackdown
By Kirstin Downey
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 19, 2007; Page B04


The Arlington County Board yesterday strongly rebuked elected officials elsewhere in Northern Virginia who are clamping down on illegal immigrants, saying such efforts are "politically inspired," "irresponsible" and "punitive."

The five board members, all Democrats, unanimously backed a resolution calling on elected officials elsewhere to "promote the integration of immigrants" instead of enacting rules they said would be divisive.

...They said the county will continue to prosecute illegal immigrants who commit crimes and report them to federal officials, but in a way that treats "all of its residents . . . with human dignity and respect."

The Arlington officials said the county will take no actions that might discourage immigrants from reporting crimes to the police, such as requiring officers to check the immigration status of every person with whom they come into contact. They also said the county will not cut public health services for immigrants, which officials said could cause disease to spread. They said they will not restrict education programs because children of illegal immigrants are likely to remain in the United States and it therefore makes better sense to help them be able to earn a good living.

...The regionwide debate over illegal immigration came to Arlington early this month. At a Saturday board meeting, local Republican officials posed pointed questions to the board about the extent of crime being committed by illegal immigrants and whether officials were requiring the police to report such crime to federal immigration officials. They also questioned whether it is appropriate for Arlington's day-laborer center to serve workers who are in the country illegally.

Board members responded by saying that the county's crime rate has reached a record low even as the community has become more diverse.

In some areas, politicians have been swept to victory by attacking their opponents as lenient toward illegal immigrants in giving them health services, education or employment assistance. In Herndon, for example, supporters of a day-laborer center were defeated last year, and the center was shut down last week.

In Prince William County, a proposed police policy would require officers to check the immigration status of anyone arrested for traffic violations, shoplifting or other misdemeanors. Manassas Park recently canceled a Latino festival that had cost $30,000, some of which had come from city money.

After many years in which relaxed immigration policies were favored by Republicans and Democrats, taking a stand in favor of immigrants now requires some political courage. Tejada is facing reelection, and Paul Ferguson, the board's chairman, is hoping to be elected clerk of the court. Both have challengers in the Nov. 6 election...


For complete article click on title of this post

photo: http://fixedreference.org/2006-Wikipedia-CD-Selection/images/51/5185.jpg