A recent study on immigration from George Mason Univsity seems to have brought out the worst in our County Chair, Corey Stewart and newly appointed CXO, Melissa Peacor. Perhaps Ms. Peacor should be forgiven. She is a newly hired CXO who apparently came in under the auspices of Mr. Stewart. She hasn’t been around long enough to be an independent thinker. Even if she is, perhaps it is wiser to quote the party line. However, in the case of Corey Stewart, there is simply no pass. He is his usual bigoted, uninformed, blow-hard, name-calling, opportunistic self.
From the News and Messenger:
A new study from the George Mason University’s Project on Immigration finds many immigrants have lived in fear since the passage of Prince William’s 2007 resolution that requires police to check legal status of those who are arrested.
The study was conducted by Debra Lattanzi Shutika, an English professor and folklorist, and Carol Cleaveland, a professional social worker. Lattanzi Shutika also said they were both “ethnographers,” which she defined as a research methodology that focuses on in-depth interviews with people.
“We go into communities for long periods of time and talk in depth to people,” Lattanzi Shutika said, adding that the GMU study conducted interviews in two communities in Manassas called the Weems Neighborhood and Sumner Lakes. “In some cases, we had two-to-three hour interviews.”
For the study, headlined on a press release from GMU as “Strict Immigration Law in Virginia County Adversely Affecting Well-Being of Latino Residents, New Survey Shows,” the two researchers interviewed residents of 60 Spanish-speaking households and 104 English-speaking households, Cleaveland said.
The goal, according to Cleaveland, was to “understand the true experiences of Latino immigrants living in a certain area of Prince William County … [and] to understand what kind of experiences they were having since the resolution.”
Those experiences, she continued, were that “people are afraid to leave the house, people feel that if they go to work they could be picked up or deported while their children are in school, and people have abandoned their homes because of this law.”
The study, according to both researches, did not differentiate between legal immigrants and illegal immigrants – and that is problematic, said two county officials.
The goals of the study were clearly outlined and the results compiled. Now Mr. Stewart objects to that fact-finding mission and even goes so far as to name-call the 2 women who conducted the study, “Illegal alien apologists.” Stewart further insulted 25% of the county population by stating:
“They’re doing exactly what all the other illegal immigrant apologists do and that is to lump all the illegals with legals, so their findings are useless,” said Corey Stewart, chairman of the Prince William Board of Supervisors. “If you’re here illegally, you should be living in fear of getting deported, because you should be deported.”
Apparently Stewart still doesn’t grasp the concept of ‘blended family.’ He doesn’t realize that while some Latino folks have full documentation, many of their friends and family might not. Thus, he insults everyone.
He continues:
Stewart called the findings “useless,” however, and issued harsh criticisms for the year-long research.
“The job of academia is for logical debate, not to keep the dialogue going,” he said. “If it’s not scientific, they why even produce this information? This survey was conducted by a group that is more interested in political agenda, than in objective analysis.”
Useless? Perhaps Stewart has forgotten the butt-ripping he got from Linda Chavez over his anecdotal documentation of the immigration problem he said existed in Prince William County. He told her during the fact finding hearing of the Human Rights Commission that he had gotten his information from the community.
Obviously he does not know or understand what the job of academia is. ” Logical debate, not to keep the dialogue going?” Does he realize how stupid that statement is?
Actually, I don’t expect more from him. He will discredit anything and anybody to get a vote, apparently. Was it not just 2 months ago that he went down to Stafford and whooped it up, good ole boy style, over refusing to process paperwork for newly qualified medicaid potential recipients? The closer he got to home, the more he wimped out. First the Tea Party Rally where he handed out fliers toned it down a bit. By the time his rash ideas made it to the board of supervisors, it was but a tiny whimper and a non-scientific study.
Ms. Peacor probably needs to do a quick review about scientific surveys. The UVA survey is missing a few components before it could truly be considered a scientific survey. Just a little more oversight and control of survey conditions is needed. Furthermore, theUVA survey questions people’s reaction to how the police do their job…not what people think of the resolution. Ms. Peacor stated:
Prince William County Executive Melissa Peacor, meanwhile, pointed to “serious errors” on the GMU press release that indicate the survey could have been skewed from the start. The GMU release refers to the county’s “Rule of Law ordinance [that] requires that police check immigration status of all who could possibly be in the country without authorization.” But, as Peacor said, the resolution actually requires that legal status be checked on all who are arrested.
“If the researchers misrepresented the actual position of the county to the respondents,” Peacor said, in an e-mail, “then that would bring their findings into serious question and more seriously lead to greater fear in the Latino community.”
The study is neither “statistically valid nor scientific,” unlike the county’s annual citizen survey from the University of Virginia, which found in 2009 that nearly 86 percent of Hispanic respondents expressed satisfaction with the county government, Peacor added.
Peacor has no reason to think that anything was misrepresented to those surveyed. The PWC Immigration Resolution evolved many times. I have lived here for decades and it is difficult to keep up with exactly where we are in the evolved process. Imagine being a relative newcomer to the area. More importantly, perception is reality. Many involved in the Immigration Resolution development have since admitted that the “scare and fright” aspect of the resolution actually accomplished what they wanted to do. Therefore, any noises made by county officials that implies that ‘isn’t what we meant’ is just pure bull crap.
Can we accept that both surveys question different aspects of life here in Prince William County? Hopefully our county officials know the difference. According to the researchers:
“…their survey was not intended as a political commentary on the county’s resolution, or as a means of pushing a change in policy, but rather a conversation starter that could also, according to the release, “predict consequences of new Arizona law.”
Corey Stewart keeps switching hats, depending on which paragraph he is on. On the one hand, he wants to be Mr. Bad. He plays the tough guy–let’s arrest all them thar illegals. In the next breath he switches hats, puts on his Mr. Feel Good face, and says ‘oh no one has anything to fear, we only look at status of those arrested.’
Meanwhile, anyone who doesn’t want to round up ILLEGAL immigrants, drive them to the border and shove them out of the bus in the desert and drive away must be an ILLEGAL ALIEN APOLOGIST.
I have never said Manassas is perfect and it has its own challenges,
all the more reason not to sweep in assorted misdeeds from PWC and
label them “Manassas”.
Greg L. is a resident of PWC, as is Fernandez and numerous others who
I wish would stay in PWC to act out their assorted issues and conflicts.
The Rolling Wood condo posting on BVBL is just that -a blog posting.
There is a clear appeals process if any citizen believes their assesssment
is incorrect. As far as problems with a management company, the remedy
for that begins with their HOA. If the HOA fails to act, vote them out.
@whatever
They might have focused on Hispanic immigrants because it is the Hispanic population that feels targeted, because the law in AZ largely affects Hispanic migrant workers and because our Hispanic population has grown so much.
I would ask the ladies who did the research.
@Rick Bentley
Sorry, but I laughed. I guess I’m vulgar 🙂
@Rick Bentley
Rick, GR and his gang got plenty of stage time, including stage time at GMU. I don’t think there was any lack of the other side being presented.
@Poor Richard
Your posts really do come off quite prejudice against PWC. I don’t think I’m the only one that reads you that way.
You’re right what was said about the condo was just a blog post. I don’t know why you would bring an HOA into a comment regarding the assessements. I don’t live or pay taxes in the city. I just don’t like seeing taxpayers ripped off by their local government. Sorry, but that is what is happening in your fair city for some taxpayers. I just hope they are paying attention, but not too many are fortunate enough to be in a position to sell their property if it was purchased in the last 5 years. So, only those individuals will know. Perhaps, a trip to good ole Citizens’ Time in the City might be a good way to shed some light on the assessments. 🙂
Lafayette,
I’m not prejudice towards PWC, but am “prejudice” towards
inaccurate information that demeans the City of Manassas.
Any Manassas City resident with assessment questions
should start by contacting John Grezjka, Commissioner of the Revenue.
Plus, there is also a citizens appeal board.
Brought up the HOA because the poster complained about
the management company which I assume is hired by the HOA.
Citizens time twice a month at every regular council meeting
and at “Town Hall” meetings held at schools throughout the community.
How about:
“What happens in Prince William County stays in Prince William”?
Rick, I spoke with Debra. She and her colleague spoke only with neighborhood people who were not Latino immigrant in Sumner Lake and Weems. They spoke with over 100 people. Can it get any fairer?
PR, I asked why City of Manassas. She said they were interested in the general Manassas area, not just PWC. The entire community was affected not just along political boundaries. They felt that to omit the City of Manassas would be to omit part of the Manassas Community at large. The focus was Manassas, not Woodbridge or Lake Ridge.
Poor Richard, from another angle, do you want the Prince William $$$ that pours into the City during Railroad Heritage Days, Fall festival and all the other special occassions to also stay in Prince William County?
Do you want those who come in to City Tavern, Okras. Carmellos, Philadelphia Tavern, Mackie’s, just to name a few of the fine restaurants, to go elsewhere?
Didn’t think so. Be careful what you wish for. I think most of us, especially those who have been around a while feel a strong sense of community that transcends the political boundaries that you so frequently remind us of.
Most of us ignore the political boundaries. Most of us have a Manassas address, from at least route 29 to over near Hoadly Road, up to the Fairfax boundary. I suppose you will have to take that up with the US Post Office.
@Poor Richard
There are things that happen in the City of Manassas that those of us with Manassas addresses have to bare the burden of too. The sword cuts both ways with regards to the City of Manassas/Manassas of PWC. I’m not here to fight, but it some of this stuff get old real fast. Especially for me, I’ve donated as much to the City of Manassas as I have PWC, all for the good of the community as a WHOLE.
Moon’s right about the restaurants. I wonder what the ratio of City residents, PWC residents, and outside of the county & city are for dining in the City of Manassas. I think it’s safe to say there’s a substantial amount of PWC residents spending their money in your city. I for one will only eat once every two months if that in the City of Manassas due to the ridiculous meals tax. Honestly, a luxury tax(meal tax) for food. We all need to eat.
Thanks for the information on Citizens’ Time. It wouldn’t be my first time to speak there. Maybe, I’ll see you there. 😉
Poor Richard, don’t forget the failed attempt by the City to define “family” and the constituency at which that attempt was aimed. The City doesn’t exactly have clean hands – even though it has good restaurants.
The Bobbitts lived in the City… 😉
OOPS!! My bad, they lived the county. 🙂
But they came to the city…..re the Bobbitts..sometimes in separate pieces, but they did end up here.
Moon — Your further pursuit of this issue answered a lot of questions and did allow us to get away from the “assumptions” to which Sarah referred in her post. For me personally it was not a question of “liking” or “not liking” the results as emphasized in the GMU press release. It was, rather, a question of why anyone who keeps up at all with the illegal immigration issue would be surprised or impressed by the “results” as GMU told us about them. Now it looks like GMU may have caused all this by the limited emphasis in its press release and that the researchers themselves were sort of undercut by that.
Sarah — I am always amused when someone tries to take me to task for worrying about how our tax dollars are spent at any governmental level. I live in a county which has been facing a severe budget crisis. Almost every state is facing the same problem, including several like California and New York which are in absolute crisis. Towns in California have either declared bankruptcy or are contemplating such. Virtually every economic analysis, domestic and international, now tells us that our national debt will equal GDP as early as 2012 and that we had better do something about that or we may be facing some serious economic and fiscal dislocations just down the road, including much higher interest rates, greater borrowing difficulty, possible deep cuts in services, and the distinct possibilty of large tax increases. But, what the hey, be concerned about how the tax dollars are being spent? How about the answer is: yes.
@Moon-howler
Right you are, Moon!! Let’s not forget that one part was delivered by a Manassas Park cop, that grew up in WG. 🙂
Good one, Red Dawn!
And Mr. B was made whole again by 1st rate medical care
in the City of Manassas, our only connection (: to the
incident.
RD, I am dying of curiosity now. that does narrow it a bit.
I plea the 5th as I have DETACHED myself from the situation…LOL 😉 Lafayette?!? 😉 LOL!! 🙂