This report came out November 5th.   I am not going to post the entire report, but you can click here to read it in full.

What jumped out at me, immediately, was the fact that overall, the sudden demographic change, i.e. the influx of Latinos, to specific neighborhoods, resulted in a sense of community loss. Residents who had lived in fairly homogeneous populations, were quite suddenly faced with dramatic changes to their perception of what was “comfortable” and secure in their own neighborhoods.  

I am not suggesting there were not real issues of quality of life, but it is clear, the orchestrated deliberate attempt to equate all hispanics as “illegals” was meant to facilitate targeted removal of a specific population.   Many hispanics left, not because they were lacking proper documentation, but because they were afraid of being harrassed. 

FAIRFAX, Va.—A study by George Mason University researchers has found that a majority of residents in two Manassas neighborhoods express deep-seated anti-immigrant sentiments, though fewer than half say immigration has affected them personally. The survey, which included life history interviews, was conducted from Spring 2008 to Summer 2009 to attain an in-depth understanding of the forces inciting a local movement to adopt legislation to “crackdown” on illegal immigration in Prince William County.

Forty-six percent of those surveyed indicated that immigration had had either no effect on them personally or has had a positive effect. A total of 79 percent stated that they like their neighborhoods and 56.9 percent said that they planned to stay in their neighborhood in the next 5 years.

Yet, 53 percent of residents in the Weems and Sumner Lakes neighborhoods surveyed stated that the U.S. should take decisive action to deport illegal immigrants, and/or blamed them for depleting local resources such as health care and education. Some expressed strong anti-immigrant sentiments as indicated by the statements: “The place is being barraged with Latinos…Everywhere you go, there are swarms of them,” and, “Can I send them on a bus and load it up until they all speak English?” Others were more moderate in their sentiments, citing the issue of immigrants having entered the country illegally as a key concern.

“Our research suggests that the changes that have taken place in Manassas in the last 20 years have been unsettling for some residents,” says Debra Lattanzi Shutika, assistant professor of English at Mason. “Many of these residents seemed to be experiencing what I have identified as a type of ‘localized displacement’—they feel out of place in their home community. In some cases, residents told us that they found it difficult to adapt to the changes taking place around them, and that these changes that made their ‘home’ seem unfamiliar.”

 

“Homeowners naturally want their investments to appreciate,” says Cleaveland, a faculty member in Mason’s Department of Social Work. “What becomes problematic is turning this discussion into one about the presence of a particular group of people, and creating a social issue in which a certain segment of the population is targeted. We would have hoped for a debate and response that concerned trash pick-up, parking and overcrowding, instead of one in which a particular group is singled out as problematic.”

[EDITOR NOTE:  Thread moved to current location because of continued interest. M-H 11/22/09]

200 Thoughts to ““George Mason University Study Shows Deep Anti-Immigration Sentiment in Pockets of Prince William County””

  1. Lafayette

    I need to correct the year of the convention I spoke of, it took place in early 2008.

  2. One Democrat was supported by BVBL. Paul Nichols in 2007. In 2009 one would think he had grown coven hoofs and a tail. He was vilified this past election cycle.

    I would like to point out that I stated ‘sincere intentions and concerns.’ I cannot go so far as to say ‘well-intentioned.’

  3. Lafayette

    I forgot about Paul Nichols because he most definately was NOT supported this past go around that’s for sure.

    Note: I’m sorry for misquoting “well-intentioned”, I agree with your “sincere intentions and concerns” are what I meant to say.

  4. Lafayette

    Feel free to correct my post to reflect your words. “sincere….”

  5. Oh no, your words are your words and mine are mine. A contributor or 2 has jumped on your for my words. I wanted to make sure that THEY saw the distinctions.

    I wasn’t trying to correct you, just clarify my own position.

  6. Lafayette

    I give up… Paul Nichols was NOT supported by bvbl this most recent election.

  7. Lafayette

    I don’t see much difference in our words, but I’m sure there are those that will certainly be ready to jump on it either way. Oh well.

  8. I got you covered, Laf.

    I made 3 typos correcting your typo.

  9. Lafayette

    I was replying to IWK and that was their word choice, not yours Moon.

  10. Rick Bentley

    “There are illegal aliens from Africa for sure.”

    Obama’s own Aunt, who lived in taxpayer-subsidized housing for about 6 years while defying a deportation order. And of course, she’s still here. Waiting on that Amnesty. Maybe she’ll eventaully get her old Section 8 Housing unit back, and better medical benefits to boot.

  11. Rick Bentley

    “The funny thing is they never supported any one unless their name was followed by an R.”

    Who should they have? I remember any HSM endorsements being played pretty straight. The bvbl endorsements are another matter.

  12. Lafayette

    Rick, I didn’t say they were wrong to support those that they did. Why would any politician want to be endorsed by HSM or BVBL for that matter? They are a both a small groups and not the voice of the majority. I don’t think any politicians really need or want either groups endorsement, but that’s just my opinion.

  13. Lafayette

    I sould also add, Rick. I’m a true Independent and my vote for candidates is NOT based only on illegal immigration. There are many other deciding issues, but immigration is certainly a key factor in my vote.

  14. HSM had better be real careful before making any endorsements.

    They don’t need to make endorsements. Since the president and the blog owner are the same, he can simply say the the blog and the organization are seperate and let the blog’s fingers do the walking so to speak.

    Loopholes Loopholes Loopholes. They are also probably the first ones throwing stones at Geitner also.

    How is that tax status working out for them?

  15. I am not sure how voting one way or the other on illegal immigration is really going to help anyone outside of federal elections. I think what happened in Prince William County is pretty indicative of what can and cannot happen.

    I ask what has really changed? Nothing other than what is allowed by the feds with 287(g).

    I remember in summer of 2007 where the big bad county was going to not let illegal immigant kids to to school, keep them out of libraries and swimming pools, etc. That was just the hook.

    Perhaps Prince William County ought to adopt a new slogan:

    DON’T BE MISLEAD

  16. Lafayette

    Rick and Moon, I don’t believe HSM made any actual endorsements, but they did throw their support to candidates. I sure don’t remember getting any campaign flyers saying they were endorsed by HSM.
    Moon-lol a new county slogan.

  17. Does their tax status allow them to make endorsements?

    I think they might have to follow the same election rules that a church does. (cough-choke-cough)

    I expect all the support was done behind the scenes. I am willing to bet that there were no HSM signs out there at the polls with the HSM volunteers.

  18. Am I imagining things or weren’t those items I listed above part of the original July 10, 2007 resolution?

  19. Lafayette

    Moon, if they do infact have their “tax status” they are not allowed to make endorsements.
    You would be correct in the fact that there were NO HSM signs at the polls in 2007. Didn’t you vote? 😉

  20. They aren’t allowed to make endorsements so they just have bvbl do it. Right! That’s the ticket.

    Oh but thats right, bvbl is not hsm. Its just their mouth, not the whole body. Now I get it.

  21. Elena

    Hi Lafayatte,
    I was just commenting as a general observation, not necessarily directed at anyone one particular person. I am wondering, do you see the extreme rhetoric over illegal immigration not focused on people who speak spanish, what was your experience with people from HSM?

  22. Locally all I ever heard extreme was at Hispanics. I never heard it at Africans until it was discovered that Obama had an aunt who is supposedly an illegal immigrant. Now it seems everyone knows her name and address.

    How many people think that embarrassing situation still exists? My guess is the wheels of justice moved real fast to fix that oooops.

  23. Lafayette

    Elena, I understan it was a generalization. However, I wanted to clarify what I first had dealings with in my neighborhood. There’s no denying the Hispanic population has exploded in PWC over the past decade. Well, maybe not so much so in the past year or two. Of course I do not who is and who is not illegal. If they are hauled off to the ADC now, that’s another story.

    Moon, I think you read my rantings on the Africans on BVBL. I think we may have had some Asian illegal aliens running some “message” businesses. I don’t think the Hispanics have market cornered on illegal immigration, but they are a very large minority in PWC.

  24. Lafayette

    Elena, I think most had dealings with Hispanics. I truly believe most were concerned about illegal immigration from anywhere on the globe. I know I for one was, and continue to be to this day.

  25. I also heard you talk about ICE and the Africans in person, Lafayette. Not sure if I remember your in print rant.

    I never got the impression that bvbl people were that concerned about people from other parts of the globe. (I mean beyond lip service.) They were concerned about that which was irritating them from what I could tell. And that is understandable.

    I would say the average person really knows very little about our immigration laws and what it takes to immigrate legally. Most of us are a storehouse of misinformation.

  26. Lafayette

    @Moon-howler
    Remember, Moon who signed up a lot of people and heard what many members had to say. I’m not talking about just the usual 30 people who regularly attended meetings. Thousands of people stopped by and talked to HSM at the Fair. Oops…did I just say the
    F-word? 😉
    Does HSM even have monthly meetings any more?

  27. IWK Manassas

    Lafayette :IWK-You’ve made very interesting points. There were many well-intentioned folks in HSM. However, once that “Gospel Greg” video came out several members asked to have their membership withdrawn, and then the Chief Deane attack certainly made me leave HSM. I’m sure that there were others that did the same.
    HSM was “sold” as not being about either political party and it would support those that supported their cause. The funny thing is they never supported any one unless their name was followed by an R. I really think HSM really is a PAC. (imo)
    I’m now thinking about to the early days of HSM. The HSM board was mostly City of Manassas residents and a few of them had ran for City Council before and couple even after the “birth” of HSM. I bet we see one man that got beat in the convention in 2007, and then again last year when now Judge Steve Smith’s seat was open the Council chose Ms. Bass. The Council did right by not going with the right-winger.

    I agree, the “gospel GL” video turned me off, big time. It offended me that he was suddenly quoting scripture like he was ordained. Also agree that Ms. Bass was an excellent choice for council. While on the school board she proved herself to be hard-working and someone who can bring people together. I also like having a female perspective back on council again, we’ve been missing that since Judy Hays’ passing. God bless her, Ms. Hays was a great lady.

  28. Laf, I only was commenting on what the bvbl bloggers said. They certainly weren’t global with their displeasure.

    I have no idea about membership of HSM. I was never a member. (which I know you know but not sure everyone else knows)

    I still contend that most people have no concept about what legal American immigration entails. I speak for myself also.

  29. Lafayette

    Moon, I think their scope was much more narrow than the global aspect of illegal immigration. My point was that I talked to many people just not the regulars at meetings, Citizens’ Time etc. I think everyone is concerned about the local effects and don’t look at the big picture.

    I’ve never claimed to be an Immigration Scholar that’s for sure. Of course we have many novices in PWC, and I’ll leave it at that. 😉

  30. Lafayette

    @IWK Manassas
    A woman’s perspective is ALWAYS important to have on any governing board. I feel it’s important because our society is not all male for starters. I was glad see to Ms. Bass get the seat because of her proven committment to the City of Manassas. Oh, and it definately got few around these parts all riled up too…added bonus. 🙂

  31. Has anyone been able to determine when this report is going to be released? Is this part just the teaser?

    I did find a similar report from June 2007 in my travels. It was a survey on Virginian’s opinions.

    Some of you all might want to take a look at it.

    http://cssr.gmu.edu/immigration/Immigration%20survey/immigration%20survey.html

  32. And just out of curiosity, why would GMU CSSR do a press release and then not release the report. Seems bass-awkward to me, and I said it long before Sarah Palin did. 😉

  33. Rick Bentley

    “How many people think that embarrassing situation still exists? ”

    You mean Obama’s Aunt? She’s still here. Probably not in Section 8 housing anymore, but still flouting US law. You know why? Because no judge wants to kick the President’s Aunt out.

    Obama mouthed something about letting the case go forward like any other case, but if you don’t think that she would have been deported if Barack wasn’t famous and powerful, then I would find you very naive.

    And the real question to me is how “the media” has not reported this story in any depth or investigated it at all. Similarly, I would think that with Pelosi fighting tooth and nail for Amnesty that the media would investigate the well-known phenomenon of illegal laborers at her vineyard.

    http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/world-news/obamas-kenyan-aunt-zeituni-can-stay-in-the-us-for-ten-more-months_100174421.html

    April 2, 2009 –

    Critics say Onyango, 56, has received special treatment because she wasn’t deported earlier, twice was granted a reopening of her case and now has another 10 months to stay in the country until her next hearing.

    Citing Obama’s statements that relevant laws should be applied to Onyango, William Gheen, who heads Americans for Legal Immigration, said, “If the rule of law were applied in this case, Zeituni Onyango should have been deported a long time ago.”

  34. Rick Bentley

    The American people are a pack of sheep so used to being sodomized roughly by their government that things like this don’t generally upset them. If we could just get the President to stop throwing money away left and right (what was it, $118,000 per clunker or something?) and to figure out what nations we plan to fight in, many of us have been conditioned to settle for that.

  35. Rick Bentley

    Yeah I know I misspelled that word … that was an accident. More than anyone here I would benefit from an “Edit” capability on posts!

  36. I fixed it for you. I wish everyone had their own editor also. I use mine all the time. Mistakes R us.

    As for Obama’s aunt, I expect her status was adjusted real fast. Just a hunch.

    If congressman can order up a rush job for people, imagine what a president can do.

  37. @Wolverine
    Wanted to respond more. You said, “If you have a trash container with a lid, you can put your trash curbside after 6:00pm the night before trash pickup.”

    I am one of the biggest offenders of this, and I’m not Hispanic or an immigrant. That rule is a pain in the ass, especially for working people who are stuck in traffic or have other things on their minds. I’m not saying spilling-over, fly-away trash should be acceptable, but a trash-can-breaking curfew is kind of nit-pickey. And I think people who report such things just want something to complain about.

    I’ve been cited for brown grass, an unauthorized miniature bird-bath, and dull shutters. My grass has been too tall for some people’s likings (and I’m not talking about anything above four inches or so). I rarely rake leaves, especially in this nasty weather. And my laundry looks like something from Godzilla (though you can’t see it from outside, thank goodness).

    Am I an illegal Hispanic? No. I’m a busy person who thinks other things are more important and those things don’t do anything to my property value or anyone else’s unless you live in some hoity-toity community filled with bored, picky people. Does it look better if it’s all cleaned up and manicured? Maybe. Would I pay someone to do it for me if I could afford it? Of course (especially inside my house). But is it a priority? Hell no.

    We’ve never been fined because this isn’t fine-able stuff. But I am the bane of my HOA’s existence I am sure. (I know this because they don’t answer my emails and they aren’t happy with my vocal stance on land use and development.)

    My point? No one makes the assumption I am an immigrant.

    They might think other things about me, of course. But that’s their problem, not mine.

  38. PAP, as a ground zero person, I am willing to bet you money that your violations cannot hold a candle to some of the violations you see in Manassas City or Manassas County. 4 inch grass? Try 2-3 FOOT grass. Garbage? Did you set your garbage out on Monday evening for a Thursday pick up? Was it all spilling out of the can when you set it out? Did you set out other household items like washers, dryers, carpets and mattresses for everyone else to look at for 4 days?

    People who aren’t immigrants do the above listed things also. I have no problem chewing up anyone who does this. However, if you are an immigrant and do these things, you aren’t helping other immigrants. And its another thing to keep doing them even after people speak to you about violating neighborhood standards.

  39. PAP, let me be less diplomatic. If someone can drive through the neighborhood and pick out immigrant houses by the way the properties are kept, you have a problem. Volume is not their friend. If you had one bad immigrant house, then you deal with it individually. If you have 20 bad properties on your street and 15 having immigrants living there…then people do form blanket assumptions. That is just the way we human beings work.

  40. I understand. And I also understand that extreme trash was a problem. We had a few episodes of that around here, and people DID take pictures of it. However, I also think some people are nit-picky and just like to complain and assume.

    I also know what you mean about blanket assumptions being made based on a few examples and no other examples. You have to get out of your own neighborhood to understand there ARE other things out there besides your own experiences.

  41. There are nit pickers. And they will get you and me also. The things that some of the folks here were talking about were outlier behaviors being committed by too many people.

    On a street of 30 houses, if 15 are not conforming to community standards, then there is a problem. 2 not conforming is another matter. Parts of Manassas City and Manassas county were getting into the half way non conformity.

  42. @Moon-howler
    And that IS a legitimate problem, MH. I don’t want anyone to think I believe otherwise. My point was that first, people have different thresholds of tolerance when it comes to things like trash and lawns. And second, it’s easy to make assumptions about who is behaving offensively–i.e. ‘if there’s a bunch of trash on the curb, the offenders must be a bunch of Hispanic illegals.’

    I wonder, now, when people are talking about trash problems what they mean by that. Do you think every person complaining was talking about the same thing? Or were some people complaining about overflowing trash while some were talking about trash bins breaking curfew? I’m just curious.

  43. Lafayette

    PAP-I suggest you take a look at these pictures from 2007.
    http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/561184047yuacNi?start=0
    862-868 pictures. That grass was that tall for two months!!
    873-925-there were NO Building Permits, and the toilet and other demolition trash sat there for about 2-3 weeks. Once the Supervisor’s Office got involved it was taken care of within three working days.
    I suggest taking a look at some of my other albums for a reminder of what we dealt with here in WestGate area.

    I reported ANY house that was maintaining a trash heap, no work permits, etc.. I have don’t know who lived in all of the houses, but I can tell you this some of this crap took place at houses of an original owner or two.

  44. Lafayette

    PAP, the trash was overflowing and would sit out for days! Curfew wasn’t a big issue here. It was sitting there for days and not always in a container. Many cans couldn’t even be shut and there was still more trash lined up beside of that. You know how most people’s trash is plentiful right after Christmas? Well, there was more trash than that with a twice a week trash pick up year round. This is not good for public health it will/did cause rats. No excuse!

  45. It is very difficult to have construction debris removed from a house. Been there, done that. The local trash companies are zero help unless you pony up $500. It is really a problem and something to be factored in when having any type of home repair done that involves construction material removal.

  46. Lafayette

    Moon-howler :It is very difficult to have construction debris removed from a house. Been there, done that. The local trash companies are zero help unless you pony up $500. It is really a problem and something to be factored in when having any type of home repair done that involves construction material removal.

    I think was once a time they were willing to “wheel and deal” with regards to the dumpsters, but then they did get stiffed for quite a few bucks when people moved out in the middle of the night. Most people do seem to have the dumpsters there when demolition occurs, but there are those that don’t.

  47. Lafayette

    oops..I think THERE was once a time…..

  48. @Lafayette
    Yeah, I saw the pics. And like I said, that is WRONG. In fact, I just got off the phone with my mom whose HOA fees are over $200. Part of the issue is people dump couches by the dumpsters and then the removal company charges the community.

    Construction debris is always an issue especially in town house communities where there are no back yards to store the stuff until trash day.

  49. That’s a problem. Getting rid of things is a problem in general. Even Goodwill doesn’t want old furniture. It is very difficult to rent a …what you call those things…those huge containers for your driveway to old construction debris.

    I don’t know what the answer is. But removal of such things is horribly expensive IF you can find someone to even do it. The contractors also are slobs about throwing out stuff. I had a continual fight over it when I was having work done. No one wants a toilet on their front porch.

  50. Pinko, most of the time you can’t just put debris in regular trash. You have to arrange for special pick up and they charge out the ying yang. One of the trash companies here wanted 90 bucks for a recliner.

    Town house communities are even more restrictive since you aren’t the actual customer. I honestly understand why people just give up.

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