Save Stafford Officially Launches
By Greg L | 16 October 2007 | Illegal Aliens, Virginia Politics | 5 Comments
Save Stafford had their first general membership meeting last night and appears to be well-positioned to have a big impact on Stafford County politics in the near future. Although the problems with illegal aliens in Stafford County are nowhere near what we see in Prince William County, there are areas that are starting to be affected and the intent here is to head those potential problems off before they develop into a crisis. At the meeting, they elected officers, went through their concept of operations, and briefed members on the bylaws that they’ve adopted.
The meeting wasn’t preceded by a big media spash or extensively advertised, but still drew about half of the roughly thirty members that they’ve already signed up. Given that Stafford’s population is a lot smaller than Prince William’s, this is roughly equivalent to the per-capita turnout we saw in April at the inaugural meeting of Help Save Manassas. They’ve borrowed a lot from Help Save Manassas, modified what they’ve gotten to match the local political environment, and seem to have a rather brilliant plan for matching the resources they plan to have with the reality on the ground in Stafford in order to grow quickly and effect change at the local level. I’m pretty impressed.
I’d urge everyone to contact their friends in Stafford County and get them to sign up for Save Stafford so they can get engaged. This is really looking like a quality organization that wants to make a positive contribution to the debate over illegal immigration, and is going to focus on citizen engagement and ensure that local legislators understand citizen concerns. They’ve got excellent leadership in place, a good plan, and can depend on plenty of support from those of us in Prince William County and I’m sure elsewhere.
If this keeps up, the next session of the General Assembly is going to look a heck of a lot different than it did last year. What would happen if this year, unlike last year, there were a dozen or so grass-roots organizations fully engaged in the legislative process instead of only having Mexicans Without Borders show up on the illegal alien issue? It could really make a BIG difference.
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I am pleased to see unity on this issue in our surrounding communities. Sooner or later the undesirables will get the picture and leave the area for good!
The sleeping tiger in this country has been awakend by the illegal invasion.
It’s about time we all came together!
Raleigh — The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency on Tuesday proposed a partnership with North Carolina to help identify and deport illegal immigrants charged with crimes in the state.
Nearly 20 North Carolina law enforcement agencies have requested a partnership with ICE under the 287(g) program, in which local officers are trained and certified to enforce immigration law. No other state has submitted as many requests, officials said.
“North Carolina sheriff’s offices have demonstrated an unprecedented interest in partnering with ICE,” Julie L. Myers, the assistant secretary for ICE in the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement. “By working together in a coordinated manner, we plan to develop a statewide alliance that is both effective and sustainable and will enhance public safety in the state.”
“Through this unique partnership with federal officials, North Carolina sheriffs can utilize the available tools to enforce our laws and help ensure that North Carolinians feel safe in their homes and communities,” said U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole, who helped bring federal agents and North Carolina sheriffs together to discuss a partnership.
“We are pleased ICE has recognized the statewide interest to help remove criminal illegal aliens, and we look forward to working with the agency to craft a feasible plan benefiting all of our communities,” said Johnston County Sheriff Steve Bizzell, who is president of the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association.
I have seen evidence in Spotsylvania, Orange and Louisa counties that they also need to get involved in this effort pretty quickly.