Prince William County Chairman Corey Stewart is calling on neighboring Fairfax County to take a tougher tack on illegal immigration, saying Virginia’s largest county is letting down the growing number of neighboring counties addressing the issue.

“The only way that we’re going to have any real effect on forcing illegal immigrants out of our community is if we do so on a regional basis,” Stewart said. “We need their cooperation in order to remove illegal immigrants from the region.”

Three Northern Virginia jurisdictions have passed new resolutions addressing illegal immigration since Prince William County’s measure won unanimous passage

July 10, but Fairfax is not among the new contingent that includes Spotsylvania, Culpeper and Loudoun counties.

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“Gerry Connolly needs to get off of his behind and join the rest of us tackling illegal immigration in Northern Virginia,” Stewart said. “Fairfax is a real hindrance now. They are real laggards in terms of addressing the problem.”

With continued inaction, he said, the neighboring county is “becoming a sanctuary for illegal immigrants in Northern Virginia.”

Connolly, who is on vacation, could not be reached for comment. Fairfax County spokeswoman Merni Fitzgerald said the county has a policy of focusing “not on someone’s status, but on their behavior in the community.” Part of that policy, she said, is this year’s creation of a strike team to tackle code violations such as overcrowding.

“Immigration is a federal issue; we follow whatever policies the federal government enacts,” she said. “But immigrants have helped shape the identity of Fairfax County. ... Our diversity here is truly our strength.”

Immigrants, however, don’t see Fairfax County as a comparatively attractive place to live, pointing to anti-illegal-immigration laws in the town of Herndon, said Nancy Lyall, with the immigrant outreach organization Mexicanos Sin Fronteras.

“Herndon is in Fairfax County, so it is not viewed as a sanctuary,” Lyall said. “There is no place in the state of Virginia that people think is safe.”

dgenz@dcexaminer.com

wflook@dcexaminer.com