Local Government in Virginia Prefers Foreign Law Breakers

And here’s the latest example of Trump derangement syndrome exhibited by a local political entity: the Arlington, Virginia, County Board has announced that it will donate $100,000 in taxpayer money to the overtly partisan Legal Aid Justice Center. According to county officials, the grant was made to fund free legal assistance for illegal aliens facing deportation. The Legal Aid Justice Center describes itself as an “advocate for state and local policies that promote integration and reduce cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.”

This announcement comes shortly after the county raised property taxes – and increased housing, waste, and utility fees – citing the “extraordinary needs” of the Metro transit system and the Arlington County Public Schools. $100,000 is a relatively small sum compared to Arlington’s $1.25 billion 2018 budget. Yet one wonders how county legislators can ask law-abiding residents to pay higher taxes while they provide illegal aliens with free lawyers to fight deportation? The answer to that question seems pretty clear: Arlington is a sanctuary city.

It may resist the title, preferring to call itself a “welcoming community for immigrants” – whatever that means. But actions speak louder than words. In fact, Arlington seems to be competing with San Francisco to see who can come up with the best ways to waste taxpayer money while throwing tantrums about immigration enforcement:

  • In January of 2015, the Arlington County Sheriff’s Office announced that it would no longer honor hold-requests (known as “detainers”) issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
  • In 2016, the Arlington Public School Board allowed adult illegal aliens to attend public high schools.
  • Later in 2016, the Arlington County Board passed a resolution calling for the State of Virginia to begin issuing driver’s licenses to illegal aliens.

Right now it’s free lawyers for foreign law breakers. But what’s next? Judging by its past actions, it’s a safe bet that the Arlington County Board is just a short hop away from proposing illegal alien voting rights, just like their misguided colleagues in the College Park, Maryland City Council. Regardless of what foolish pro-illegal alien scheme it decides to pursue next, Arlington has sent a very clear message to its residents, “We value illegal aliens more than U.S. citizens!”

Arlingtonillegal aliensTax PayersVirginia
Matt O'Brien: Matthew J. O’Brien joined the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) in 2016. Matt is responsible for managing FAIR’s research activities. He also writes content for FAIR’s website and publications. Over the past twenty years he has held a wide variety of positions focusing on immigration issues, both in government and in the private sector. Immediately prior to joining FAIR Matt served as the Chief of the National Security Division (NSD) within the Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate (FDNS) at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), where he was responsible for formulating and implementing procedures to protect the legal immigration system from terrorists, foreign intelligence operatives, and other national security threats. He has also held positions as the Chief of the FDNS Policy and Program Development Unit, as the Chief of the FDNS EB-5 Division, as Assistant Chief Counsel with U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement, as a Senior Advisor to the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman, and as a District Adjudications Officer with the legacy Immigration & Naturalization Service. In addition, Matt has extensive experience as a private bar attorney. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in French from the Johns Hopkins University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Maine School of Law.