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Politics & Government

Helping Immigrants With 'Open Hearts and Dirty Hands'

Forum attendees learn how to address anti-immigrant policies.

“Who’s in, who’s out?” asked the Rev. Kate Walker, describing the shorthand that she believes frames the public immigration debate. 

Walker, Mount Vernon Unitarian Church’s pastor, opened a half-day forum Saturday at the church for 120 people from 15 Washington-area Unitarian congregations. The attendees saw reforming immigration policies as a moral imperative.

Walker contended that some in the media polarize the immigration issue and simplify it into “black and white thinking.” 

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“There are no good guys and bad guys,” she continued.  “The other is our brother and sister.”

Nancy McDonald-Ladd said “we had our hearts broken,” describing a policy adopted by the Prince William County Board of Supervisors encouraging police officers to question people’s citizenship status in certain situations.  She argued that some elected officials “scapegoat” people “with brown faces” and “prey on fear and insecurity,” faulting politicians for politicizing the issue instead of finding solutions.

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Recent census data shows that the population of Hispanics in Virginia has doubled over the last ten years. Hispanics are now eight percent of the state's population. In Fairfax County, the white population dropped from 58 percent to 55 percent. Asians are now 20 percent of the county’s population and Hispanics, 15 percent.

Several speakers noted that some immigrants have been exploited.  Women are lured as “mail order brides” and when they arrive, are handed over to pimps for prostitution. Some employers have refused to pay day laborers.

Lisa Johnson-Firth, a Manassas lawyer with Immigrants First, explained that she counsels immigrants on how to handle being racially profiled and on “emergency preparedness,” getting family papers in order in case someone is jailed or deported.  The “saddest” aspect of her practice is “watching families being ripped apart,” she lamented.   

“Ninety percent of immigrants pay taxes,” said Johnson-Firth, but many do not understand their legal rights.  “Misconceptions fuel fear.”

Edgar Aranda-Yanoc from Falls Church, head of the Virginia Coalition of Latino Organizations, stressed the importance of having accurate information, especially about immigrants’ legal rights and responsibilities.  He urged attendees to meet with elected officials and to “educate employers.”  Noting that the Virginia Senate recently killed 29 “bad anti-immigrant bills,” he predicted more to come in Congress and the state legislature next year. He was particularly troubled by a bill that would have barred undocumented students from attending state colleges. 

Mount Vernon resident Marge Witting attended the event because she is “always hearing about immigration reform,” adding, “I want to know what it is and how to reform.”  Sandy Peterson came to “expand my horizons.”

Accotink Unitarian Church minister Scott Sammler challenged the group to “get their hearts open and their hands dirty.” 

“Be kind to strangers,” he urged, stressing that that concept is part of the Judeo-Christian and Islamic traditions.

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