The Arlington County Board will request additional funding from Richmond in January to help immigrants adjust to living in the United States.

The request is one of many Arlington officials will lobby for during the General Assembly session that begins in January. Neighboring localities have their own immigration proposals, which mirror their varying stances on the issue.

Walter Tejada, vice chairman of Arlington's County Board, asked for the assimilation funding. The money would be used for citizenship workshops, English classes and other initiatives, he said. The county is not asking for a specific amount of money.

“I'm a strong believer that we must find ways to integrate and assimilate our hard-working immigrants,” said Tejada, who emigrated from El Salvador at 13. “Just talking about how we [in Arlington] value diversity isn't enough.”

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Alexandria probably will ask state lawmakers to oppose requiring police departments to enforce federal immigration laws and oppose further restrictions on local governments' interaction with illegal immigrants. The County Council has not approved its legislative requests. But if approved, it would be the third year the council has made the requests, said Bernie Caton, the city's legislative director.

“It's just because of what's come up in the General Assembly,” Caton said, adding the request is not a reaction to other localities' recent anti-illegal immigrant policies. “There were 50 bills [relating to immigration] last year in the General Assembly.”

If approved, Alexandria’s request would run counter to one recently approved by Virginia’s State Crime Commission. This week, commissioners decided to ask state legislators to give the State Police and local officers greater power to check immigration status and detain illegal aliens.

Immigration is expected to be Prince William County's top issue in Richmond next year. The county will ask for statewide uniformity in enforcing immigration laws, according to a draft of requests.

While the Board of Supervisors hasn't approved its legislative agenda, it is pursuing an expensive plan to check the immigration status of anyone police stop for traffic violations and other misdemeanors and suspect of entering the country illegally. County officers are scheduled to begin training in January.

Fairfax’s proposed legislative requests allude to illegal immigration through a surrogate concern: residential overcrowding. Fairfax supervisors will ask the General Assembly for the power to prevent homeowners from flipping property to delay enforcing overcrowding laws.

mhegstad@dcexaminer.com