Activists rally in Richmond to support immigration

Legislators have introduced more than 40 bills that “hurt the residents of Virginia and specifically target people of color,” said Nancy Lyall, legal coordinator of Mexicanos Sans Fronteras and a Woodbridge resident. The legislation attempts “to criminalize hard-working people, people who are trying to survive — people with families and children.”

The most egregious bill, Lyall said, would make it a Class I misdemeanor for illegal immigrants to reside in Virginia.

Dave Ransom, outreach co-chair of Culmore United Methodist Church in Falls Church, expressed his concern over a bill that would prohibit disbursing state or local funds to religious or charitable organizations that aid illegal immigrants.

These legislative efforts hearken back to Virginia’s segregation laws, Ransom said. Such laws “divided Virginians against Virginians, those laws scape-goated one section of the population, those laws made the immoral seem moral.”

Several naturalized citizens from Mexico offered their own opposition to the legislation before the General Assembly.

The press conference, which marked the beginning of the activities planned for the “Journey for Immigrant Justice” weekend, ended with Richmond resident Marc Oliver, who supports tougher immigration laws, speaking from the crowd about an illegal immigrant in Fairfax County who obtained his son’s Social Security number and has used it for eight years.

Oliver said he learned someone was using his son's number when his son received a summons to appear before the Fairfax County General District Court because of unpaid traffic tickets.

After expending eight years’ worth of time and energy to secure his son’s identity, Oliver said, he strongly backs stricter immigration laws. “If I broke your arm, would you want something done about it? If I took your identity, would you want something done about it?”

– Capital News Service