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ROANOKE, Va. (AP) - The U.S. attorney for the Western District of Virginia, John Brownlee, has announced his resignation.

The 43-year-old Brownlee said in a statement Thursday that he will resign effective May 16. He has held the post since August of 2001.

Brownlee’s cases included prosecution of the maker of the painkiller OxyContin on charges of misleading the public about its risk of addiction, and ITT for illegally sending overseas classified night-vision technology used by the U.S. military.

His office also has prosecuted local government corruption cases, drug trafficking and capital murder.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/05/AR2008040501135.html

Prince William County Police Chief Charlie T. Deane said most of the people arrested during the first month of the country’s illegal-immigration crackdown would have gone to jail anyway.

Of the 89 people questioned about their citizenship status, 41 were taken to the county’s adult detention center. Although officers have reason to think the 41 people arrested are in the country illegally, all but two were charged with a series of misdemeanors and felonies unrelated to their immigration status.

“Most of them would have been made anyway,” Deane said during a news conference to provide details about the county’s first month of increased illegal immigration enforcement.

Seven people were charged with felonies, including attempted murder, cocaine possession and shoplifting. Thirty-two people were charged with misdemeanors, which included public drunkenness, domestic assault and lack of a driver’s license. Two others were detained on immigration-related charges.

The Board of County Supervisors voted last fall to direct officers to check the citizenship or immigration status of suspects they think might be in the country illegally. The measure took effect March 3.

Of the 89 people questioned about their residency status, two were found to be in the country legally, Deane said.

Among those thought to be in the country illegally, 21 were released without charges and 25 were given citations for minor offenses. Police are referring the 87 cases to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“Our job is to communicate that” to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Deane said. “What happens after that is out of our hands.”

To put the numbers into perspective, Prince William police officers generally make 1,100 arrests a month, Deane said.

Supervisor John T. Stirrup Jr. (R-Gainesville) said that the first month’s numbers were consistent with his expectations but that it’s too early to determine the long-term effect.

“The reports I’ve been getting narratively are strong endorsements that criminal activity has reduced,” he said. “The presence of [illegal immigrants] has significantly reduced. It’s had a positive impact.”

Deane said he is concerned about perceptions in the community that police will set up checkpoints to question people about their citizenship status.

“We don’t do immigration roadblocks; we are not going to sweep day-labor sites,” he said.

Deane held a community meeting with Mexican Consul General Enrique Escorza to clear up misinformation and to quell fears about the scope of the county’s illegal immigration policies.

The cost of the illegal immigration measures for the first year will be $6.4 million. It is one of several public safety initiatives in the county’s budget for fiscal 2009, which begins July 1.

http://www.nbc4.com/news/15765600/detail.html?taf=dc

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. — A Prince William County Board of Supervisors meeting on immigration enforcement took an unexpected turn on Tuesday.

The board was to receive an update from the police chief on the county’s crackdown on illegal immigration, but board Chairman Corey Stewart, the architect of the plan, instead was attacked.

A dozen residents, including the head of the police officer’s association, blasted Stewart.

Some focused on the consequences of the illegal immigration crackdown he spearheaded. Others were angry about criticism he leveled at Police Chief Charlie Deane.

Stewart suggested a meeting Deane had last week with the Mexican General Consul and Latino residents was inappropriate and possibly illegal.

“I am appalled that you, Corey Stewart, have publicly attacked our chief,” said former county Supervisor Hilda Barg.

“To you Corey, I say, ‘If you cannot lead us, we must have a leader. Please leave us,’” Barg said.

“Bar none, every single person I talk to was angry, disappointed and very upset at your flippant, arrogant remarks. They do nothing more than add poison to this situation, and it is disgusting,” said resident Skip Brown.

Other speakers begged the board to reconsider the policy implemented last month allowing police to check the citizenship status of those arrested in the county if they think they may be in the country illegal.

A woman who once sponsored a fundraiser for Stewart highlighted a Web site created by supporters of Stewart that likens illegal immigrants to dog food.

“The person I know would never have a relationship with somebody who would post vileness like this,” she said.

Before the meeting, Stewart defended his meeting with the Mexican official.

The controversy overshadowed the police chief’s update on the crackdown. Deane departed from his planned remarks to address the questions.

“This meeting was neither a violation of law, State Department protocol, nor was it unprecedented,” he said.

The chief said the meeting was one of 77 he has had in the community to allay fears about the policy.

Deane said in the first month of the crackdown, the police had contact with 89 people suspected of being in the country illegally.

In his first briefing to the county supervisors since a crackdown on illegal immigration began March 3rd, Deane said that most were questioned during traffic stops and calls for service and 41 were arrested on various charges and taken to the county’s adult detention center.

In the fall, the board voted to direct officers to check the residency status of crime suspects they think might be in the country illegally. Some in the immigrant community are concerned that the program will be used to profile Latino residents.

Since July, when the county began implementing federal immigration laws, the county has detained almost 700 people.

Washington Times
By Larry O’Dell

RICHMOND (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union is disputing the Virginia attorney general’s interpretation of the state law governing in-state tuition for children of illegal immigrants.

The ACLU of Virginia says it will offer legal representation to students it thinks have been improperly denied in-state tuition rates based on the legal status of their parents.

“The United States Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized that individuals may not be discriminated against on the basis of who their parents are,” Rebecca Glenberg, state ACLU legal director, said in a letter Tuesday.

She said disparate treatment of children of illegal immigrants and their peers would violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution.

The dispute stems from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia’s request for advice on whether students born and reared in Virginia were entitled to in-state tuition, though their parents are illegal immigrants.

Ronald C. Forehand, senior assistant attorney general, wrote March 6 that children ordinarily are classified as in-state only if their parents are legal Virginia residents. However, he said such students can still get in-state tuition by proving they have established legal residence in Virginia despite their parents’ status.

He said the presumption that students share their parents’ domicile is difficult, but not impossible, to overcome.

“The facts you present — a United States citizen who was born in and who has always lived in Virginia — is, however, one in which the student, by offering clear and convincing evidence, might well be able to overcome the presumption,” Mr. Forehand said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/26/AR2008032603333.html

A vibrant Latino subculture built in Prince William County over more than a decade is starting to come undone in a matter of months.

With Latinos fleeing the combined effects of the construction downturn, the mortgage crisis and new local laws aimed at catching illegal immigrants, Latino shops are on the brink of bankruptcy, church groups are hemorrhaging members, neighborhoods are dotted with for-sale signs, and once-busy strip malls have been transformed into ghost towns.

County officials who have campaigned for months to drive out illegal immigrants say they would be unhappy to see businesses suffer or legal immigrants forced out in the process.”But I believe the benefits will far outweigh the drawbacks,” said Corey A. Stewart (R-At Large), chairman of the Board of County Supervisors and a leading advocate of the new policy allowing police to check the immigration status of people stopped for other violations. “And there will continue to be . . . a thriving Latino community in the county into the future.”

At least for the moment, however, to travel through Prince William’s Latino enclaves is to witness scene after scene of a community’s transformation.

http://www.immigrationwatchdog.com/?p=6129

Federal immigration authorities converged on a Prince William County construction company just before sunrise yesterday, arresting 34 Latin American nationals for being in the country illegally.

Workplace raids are rare in the Washington area, and the roundup at CMC Concrete Construction in the Manassas area appears to be the largest in the region in nearly two years, according to a review of news releases on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Web site.

The workers — who come from Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras, Costa Rica and El Salvador — are being charged administratively and are in ICE custody undergoing deportation proceedings, said Ernestine Fobbs, a spokeswoman for the customs agency.

News of the arrests spread quickly through an immigrant community already on edge after a county law took effect this month allowing Prince William police to check the immigration status of people stopped for other infractions.

Fobbs said the agency had executed two search warrants in connection with the operation. Because those warrants were under seal, Fobbs said, she could not discuss how or why the company had drawn federal attention, nor confirm that CMC Concrete Construction was the agency’s target.

James Rybicki, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said no employers had been charged. But he added, “Obviously, we’ll be reviewing the case for possible criminal charges.”

The University of Virginia has woke up and finally started cracking down on illegal aliens and it begins with denial of in-state tuition to illegals, even to anchor-babies who’s parents are illegally in this country.  This really is simple logic and shocking that all Universities in the United States can’t grasp the concept.  If you are in the country illegally then you can’t be a legal resident of any state within the United States.  As you can’t be a legal resident of any state, you are not entitled to the government services that state provides to it’s citizens.

Many American citizens are paying through their teeth for out of state costs to attend Colleges nationwide, and they are being rapidly removed from the education system by those who are in the country illegally yet going to colleges at half price or less.

Why is Virginia looking at parents citizenship? Because students are considered dependent upon their parents until they are 24 years of age.

While no one is saying they can not attend college in the United States. Many illegals are still finding issues with being asked to pay out of state tuition.  They claim that they can’t afford it, yet they have no issue with American’s forking up the extra cash and struggling to make ends meet if they live out of state to get an education.

LINK 

NEWS RELEASE 

February 4, 2008

FREDERICK CO., MD - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) began a four-week training course here today for 36 officers from five law enforcement agencies in Maryland and Northern Virginia which are seeking participation in ICE’s 287(g) program.

ICE’s 287(g) program provides in-depth training on a variety of enforcement topics including immigration law, intercultural relations, and how to use Department of Homeland Security databases to help positively identify criminals and immigration violators. Once the Memoranda of Agreement (MOAs) are signed by ICE and the local law enforcement approving entity, the trained officers and deputies will be authorized, under ICE supervision, to use the skills learned to initiate removal proceedings on those, encountered during their normal course of duties, found to be here in the country illegally.

Multiple agencies are represented in this second training class of 2008 and the 36 officers will add to the more than 600 officers already trained through the 287(g) program.

• Frederick County Sheriff’s Office (MD) - 26 deputies
• Manassas Police Department (VA) - 1 officer
• Manassas Park Police Department (VA) - 1 officer
• Prince William County Police Department (VA) - 6 officers
• Prince William County Sheriff’s Office (VA) - 2 deputies

All five agencies will have trained officers and deputies who will work closely with ICE investigators targeting criminal activity. Additionally, the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office will have a jail component. The deputies assigned to the detention center would be able to determine the immigration status of those processed through the facility.

“The public benefits from these partnerships because we are combining our law enforcement resources to identify and remove criminals preying on our communities,” said Sheriff (ret.) Jim Pendergraph, executive director for ICE’s Office of State & Local Coordination. “Not only will the criminal element be removed from our streets, but possibly from the country as well.”

“I am looking forward to our new partnership with ICE,” said Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins. “This program is a benefit to the citizens of Frederick County and will greatly enhance our efforts in both national security and removing criminal aliens from our community.”

The 287(g) program is named after the section of law under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) that authorizes ICE to train local officers to enforce immigration law. The program has received more than $25 million dollars for training and other associated costs under the current FY 2008 budget - up from just over $15 million the program received last fiscal year. Currently, 34 local enforcement agencies spanning the nation have signed MOAs with ICE and more than 600 officers have been trained and certified to enforce immigration law. The officers from those agencies are credited for identifying more than 40,000 with possible immigration violations in the past two years.

The 287g program is only one component under the ICE ACCESS (Agreements of Cooperation in Communities to Enhance Safety and Security) umbrella of services offered for assistance to local law enforcement officers. ICE ACCESS provides local law enforcement agencies an opportunity to team with ICE to combat specific challenges in their communities.

Other ICE ACCESS enforcement options include the creation of local task forces targeting specific challenges like gangs or document fraud, the presence of a Criminal Alien Program (CAP) team in local detention facilities to identify criminal aliens, or training to utilize the ICE Law Enforcement Support Center (LESC) which provides officers the ability to inquire about a person’s immigration and criminal history.

Law enforcement agencies interested in reviewing the myriad of enforcement programs under the ICE ACCESS program are encouraged to call their local ICE office or visit www.ice.gov for more information.

March 14, 2008

Washington Times

LYNCHBURG, Va. (AP) — A syphilis outbreak that is afflicting men and women of all ages has attracted the attention of state epidemiologists.

“What we’re seeing is kind of strange,” said Tangye Harris, regional supervisor of the Virginia Epidemiological Response Team of the Department of Health.
“Actually, there’s no one group that stands out. The cases don’t follow a pattern of young, old, prostitutes, black or white,” said Miss Harris.

Syphilis can be treated at all stages with a single or series of injections of either penicillin or a similar antibiotic.
The number of cases in the Central Virginia Health District has grown steadily since 2005, when two new cases were reported. In 2006, there were seven new cases and, in 2007, 26.

Those new cases are among 58 existing cases in the district, which includes Lynchburg and the counties of Amherst, Appomattox, Bedford and Campbell, said Yvonne Walker, district lab manager.
The cases are reported in patients ranging from 19 or younger, to 79. Most cases are occurring in women aged 20-29.

Along gender lines, 32 women and 26 men have tested positive for syphilis.

The state response team is attempting to target the core transmitters — possibly people who exchange sex for money or drugs.

“We try to make it known how important it is to share with us who their partners are in order to stop the spread of the infection,” Miss Harris said.
Everything is confidential, and someone named as a partner will not know the source, she said.

Washington Times

HARRISONBURG, Va. (AP) — Eight persons are charged with conspiring to obtain bogus Ohio identification cards for illegal immigrants in Virginia and elsewhere, a federal prosecutor said yesterday.

U.S. Attorney John L. Brownlee said the fraudulent IDs apparently were intended to help the illegal immigrants obtain employment and avoid deportation.
“There is no terrorism at all,” Mr. Brownlee said. “This is an immigration case.”

Four defendants are from Ohio: two employees of a state Bureau of Motor Vehicles office in Columbus and two interpreters who served as brokers for the conspiracy, according to an indictment handed up by a federal grand jury in Harrisonburg.
Three defendants from Virginia recruited illegals who were looking to purchase Puerto Rican birth certificates and matching Social Security cards, which were provided by defendant Luis M. Rosado-Rodriguez, 29, of Ponce, Puerto Rico, according to the indictment.

The recruiters sold the documents to the illegal immigrants and made arrangements for their travel to Ohio to obtain the illegal state IDs, the indictment says.
Mr. Brownlee said Ohio was chosen because Virginia has tightened procedures for obtaining IDs at its state-operated Department of Motor Vehicles offices since the 2001 terrorist attacks. Ohio’s departments, in contrast, are franchises that can be obtained by individual state contractors.

The Ohio BMV in this case was managed by Nekeia Mack-Fuller, 29, of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. She was charged along with a clerk, Michelle Eckerman, 27, of Canal Winchester, Ohio.Authorities identified the interpreters as Christina Dawn Cheatham, 23, and Jose Antonio Gutierrez-Ramirez, 34, both of Columbus. Those two also operated a “staging area” and provided information and transportation to the illegal immigrants, according to the indictment.

The recruiters were Edwin Roberto Mendez, 32; Jairo Gomez, 32; and a man identified only as Juan, age and last name unknown, all of Harrisonburg.
Mr. Brownlee said Mr. Rosado-Rodriguez is thought to be in Puerto Rico, and authorities were searching for him. They also were attempting to identify and locate Juan. The others are in custody or have dates to appear in U.S. District Court.

The offenses occurred from January 2004 through last month. Mr. Brownlee said the investigation began after four Guatemalan nationals possessing Puerto Rican documents and Ohio IDs were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in August. They said they had purchased the Puerto Rican documents from Mr. Mendez.