The Human Rights Commission Starts Backtracking
By Greg L | 7 August 2007 | Illegal Aliens, Prince William County | 17 Comments
The Washington Times has an article today concerning the hearings being held by the Prince William County Human Rights Commission, and the criticism leveled by Help Save Manassas regarding the Commission’s authority to conduct these hearings. Phyllis Aggrey, the executive director of the commission, again attempts to explain a rationale for these hearings in the article with an explanation that contradicts the chairman of the Commission, and is inconsistent with the testimony the commission has solicited from the groups it has invited to these hearings.
“It was the commission’s opinion at the time that they didn’t know enough about the resolution,” she said. “This is just a standing committee that the commission set up as a piece of education on the resolution.”
So now they’ve abandoned the thin lie that these hearings were at the request of County Executive Craig Gerhart in order to determine what statutory benefits the commission may provide to residents that may or may not be provided to illegal aliens. Since the commission doesn’t provide statutory benefits, it’s not surprising they’re backtracking from this ridiculous story pretty quickly. Now the supposed rationale is “educating” the commission about a resolution that has received more press coverage than perhaps any other legislative decision in Prince William County in the past five years, and has been breathlessly opined upon by every major news organization and public interest group since it was adopted. If you want an education, just open the newspaper, turn on the television, or better yet, use Google.
So let’s see what the commission thinks is “educational”. Here’s the testimony of Mexicanos Sin Fronteras and their sock-puppet, the Woodbridge Worker’s Committee, presented at the second meeting of the Immigration Committee:
NUESTRA CARTA A LA COMISION DE DERECHOS HUMANOS DEL PWC
OUR LETTER TO PWC HUMAN RIGHTS COMISSION
PETITIONTo the Prince William County Human Rights Commission, we respectfully request to send a public recommendation to the County Board of supervisors in order to nullify or reject Mr. Stirrup resolution on immigration that was approved on July 10, 2007.
Woodbridge Workers Committee and Mexicanos sin Fronteras is asking the PWC Human Rights Commission to call on the PWC BOCS to immediately rescind the Stirrup resolution targeting the immigrant population in PWC. This resolution is a direct attack on the diversity of this county and incites divisions in the county along racial lines. It is in direct violation of the county’s own Human Rights Ordinance which was established to “ensure that protection and enforcement of human and civil rights for all people living and working in PWC”. This ordinance rightfully made no reference to immigration status and therefore this county should maintain the mandate of this ordinance. It specifically targets the Latino community and violates the human rights of all county residents in many ways.
By having PWC police engage in a memorandum of understanding with ICE it allows officers to question the citizenship status of all residents accused of a crime where there is probable cause that immigration laws are being violated. To implement such a measure, probable cause must be determined. What criteria will be set as probable cause? Will it be a person’s color, accent, or last name that will be used to establish this “probable cause”? This will drastically increase the tensions between the police and residents of color. People will be fearful of contacting the police regarding any crimes for fear that they may be questioned about citizenship status. This will severely diminish the police department’s ability to provide for public safety and increase the inclination of residents to take the law into their own hands because of their fear of the police.
By requiring county officials from medical personnel to librarians to ask for citizenship documentation before providing county services is putting immigration policy into the hands of county employees. Immigration is a federal power and local jurisdictions do not have the authority to create immigration policy. Asking a person’s immigration status is discriminatory and unconstitutional.
By denying certain residents of medical assistance puts the entire community at a health risk.
This resolution will also severely increase racial division among the residents of the county by pitting citizens against non-citizens and creating an atmosphere of privilege for the citizen class.
It will divide and destroy families by forcing the separation of citizen children from non-citizen parents and splitting apart families that are comprised of both citizen and non-citizens.
This measure creates an authoritarian, apartheid like county that would require residents to carry and produce citizenship credentials in order to engage in their daily lives. It dehumanizes all of us.
This resolution is in direct conflict with the goals of the Human Rights Commission. We ask this Commission to recognize this attack on human rights in our county and take immediate action to get this measure rescinded.
Notwithstanding the enormous fallacies within this statement, this testimony doesn’t look at all like something designed to “educate” anyone. It’s clearly an appeal to have the Human Rights Commission work to rescind a decision by the Prince William Board of County Supervisors. You’d figure that if the Human Rights Commission had a lawful purpose for soliciting this testimony, they would do something to ensure they would communicate that purpose to those providing testimony so it would be relevant to that purpose and useful to the Commission. Instead, the publicly stated purpose is nonsense, and the purpose testimony like this clearly serves in actuality is to have the Human Rights Commission exercise authority it does not legally have.
At the previous meeting, the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund testified before the commission, but their testimony appears to be unavailable. Phyllis Aggrey failed to provide it after a request from the Help Save Manassas Legislative Director Maureen Wood, it is not posted on the Human Rights Commission website, and it’s not disclosed on PRLDEF’s website. The only reason the testimony by Mexicanos Sin Fronteras is available is because they chose to post it on their website. I wonder how “educational” that was.
Will the Human Rights Commission to change their story yet again, or will they just give up trying to defend this farce and start over, this time with a clearly stated lawful purpose for their actions? If there’s to be any benefit to this pointless expenditure of taxpayer dollars, the Human Rights Commission needs to start over.
UPDATE: I’ve been informed that the Human Rights Commission meeting scheduled for this Wednesday has been canceled. The stated rationale is that there wasn’t sufficient public notice provided for this meeting.
Well, what do you know? It looks like at least one of the criticisms raised Help Save Manassas has been acknowledged.
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Excellent! Isn’t this proof that the so-called non-profit entities are engaged in politics (which could affect their tax status)?
Now I want to know who to send the state police to in order to arrest them for embezzlement and conspiracy? Tax embezzlement is a serious crime and this is a clear violation of it.
http://washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070806/NATION/108060046/1001
Watch what you wear!
I heard about this on Quinn and Rose this morning. By this time next week he will have a couple extra hundred thou in his bank account courtesy of 7-11. I won’t even go in any of the 7-11’s in the park any more because of the loitering and pan handling going on by the dozens of illegals hanging around out front. I won’t even shop in the park period any more because of it. I do all my grocery shopping in Alexandria on my way home from work where I don’t have to be subjected to this crap.
park’d,
I hear ya! I HATE going to 7-11, but I have to tell you I have had luck in the early a.m. at the 7-11 on Manassas Drive. I stop in there and get my coffee. Otherwise, I wait until I get to the office or hit a Mcdonald’s drive thru….JUST FOR COFFEE AND IT ISN’T ALL THAT GOOD!
http://capwiz.com/nclr/issues/alert/?alertid=10044936
We must counter this!
Reference Patriot’s post from The Washington Times, I wonder if some sort of class action suit against 7-11 might be possible by all those who have been verbally and physically accosted by loiterers in and around 7-11’s due to their policy of “non-confrontation?” I’d appreciate thoughts from anyone with experience in class actions or similar civil proceedings.
What’s the results of the hopefully massive FOIA request that HSM dropped on them?
Mexicanos Sin Fronteras?
Looks like something Nancy Lyall would write. The illegals must be her cash cows. And to think she works for the PWC schools. Looks like they all are putting our tax dollars to good use.
By the way I had a talk with Mr. Gerhart. He said he had nothing to do with these HRC meetings.
I just though I would pass that on.
Someone needs to ask Nancy about her legal status.
By the way when is the big day for Chief Dean to come up with his probable cause plan?
I want to count the days.
Another border patrol agent is up on murder charges. This is getting out of hand. I would presume the goal here is to make border patrol agent’s second guess themselves, so they are ineffective. With this going on, why would anyone in their right mind want to become an agent? Again, part of a plan to make excuses on why we can’t enforce our borders?
http://www.corruptionchronicles.com/2007/08/using_illegal_immigrants_to_go.html
Regarding Patriots URL post…with a little bit of poetic license, the message you send can be extremely persuasive!
http://capwiz.com/nclr/issues/alert/?alertid=10044936
I just read the Washington Times article and find it incredible that at the last meeting this commission stated that they were directed by the County Executive to look into the resolution.
What is coming out now, which we already knew, is that, “the commission established the committee for educational purposes because several people contacted the commission with concerns after the board unanimously adopted the resolution July 10.”
Those were the pro illegal alien groups. Out of 15 groups scheduled to speak, only two groups had a different view point. HSM and FAIR. The commission originally said they didn’t want to hear from the Immigration Reform Law Institute, they didn’t feel it was necessary. I told the commission that the Immigration Reform Law Institute was willing to come and speak before them. So they scheduled them for tomorrow night along with the ACLU to speak.
I understand that the meeting tomorrow has been cancelled, supposedly because sufficient notice wasn’t given to citizens. Well, they have held three previous meetings and it didn’t bother them at the time. And now, how have they notified the public that this meeting has been cancelled? They haven’t! Maybe the ACLU couldn’t make it tomorrow night.
This commission needs to get it’s act together. They do have a meeting of the full commission on August 9th at the James J. McCoart Administration Building. They also have citizens time. The meeting time is not posted on their website but it starts either at 7:00 or 7:30pm. Open government at it’s best. Maybe they should post the meeting times somewhere on their website!
Does anyone know enough about the Prince William budget who can tell us how many of the groups testifying have received government financial support? Should be an interesting discussion on how our tax dollars are being spent. We should cut off funds to these organizations just like we should cut public benefits for illegal aliens.
I still find it hard to believe that the BOCS didn’t know about this beforehand. Obviously they know now and still haven’t demanded that it be stopped. If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck…
HSM needs to demand to see how much tax revenue was spent on this and at whose bequest. That person should then either be given the option of paying it back, or going to jail. Why isn’t this happening BOCS? Can anyone say shill? Hmmm…..
Make that behest. Derr.
I’d like to know where the Human Rights commission gets their charter, who does the chair report to? They are in business for the taxpaying legal voters not people who have no legal status in this country–No matter how much fruit they picked, clothes they washed, or kids tey’ve cared for. The members of the commision need to open up their bank accounts and homes to these needy folks..driving expensive SUVs