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Pastor Habacuc Diaz Lopez of the Primera Iglesia Bautista Maranatha in Culpeper County (center) speaks at last night's meeting.
This sign notes the meeting location for the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps at the VFW building in Culpeper.
George A. Taplin, director of the Virginia Chapter of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, talks about immigration issues |
CULPEPER--Since establishing the first Minuteman Civil Defense Corps outside a U.S. border state, George Taplin has gotten used to being called a racist.
Taplin, whose group lobbied last year against a taxpayer-supported day-labor site in Herndon, as well as the town council members who supported it, told three dozen citizens in Culpeper last night that he's not bothered by the name-calling, and he's not a racist.
"I'm against illegal Greeks, illegal Russians, illegal Muslims, illegal Italians," he said during a talk at VFW Post 2524. "What am I against? I'm against illegal aliens--anybody who's an illegal alien.
"We don't need racism. Racism only causes problems," he continued. "But it's not about racism. This is about the law. This is about our culture. This is about respect."
Taplin, a Herndon resident, said he was invited to Culpeper by citizens concerned about the impact of illegal immigration on the community. Residents have complained in recent months about overcrowding in single-family homes and accompanying problems with parking, trash and declining property values.
Minuteman groups in western states have focused primarily on monitoring illegal crossings at the Mexican border, and much of the debate about illegal immigration has centered on the federal government's responsibility.
The Virginia organization, however, wants to educate citizens and government officials about what they can do at the local level, Taplin said.
"We're going to use this town hall-style meeting and educate people on what's going on around the country and what they can do in their locality to alleviate the results of poor immigration policies," he said.
Joining Taplin were Sandra Gunn, eastern field representative with the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), who addressed upcoming state legislation aimed at illegal immigration, and Bill Campenni, a Herndon member of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps who talked about a program that gives extra enforcement powers to local police.
Gunn mentioned several bills in the works by members of the General Assembly. One would require residents of Virginia to prove they're in the country legally. Under another bill, if an employer fires a legal resident but retains an illegal immigrant, the discharged employee would have cause to sue, she said.
Another would require schools to request proof of legal residency before enrolling students. Though they couldn't refuse access to an education, the school districts could keep track of the numbers of illegal immigrants they're serving, Gunn said.
"I think it would go a long way to proving what we already know, that illegal immigration is harming the public education system," she said.
Campenni urged local police departments to sign up for a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) program that trains police officers on immigration law and gives them more enforcement tools.
Taplin said citizens should report businesses they suspect of hiring illegal immigrants and toss out public officials who don't address the ill effects of illegal immigration.
Culpeper Town Council member Steve Jenkins attended last night's meeting, telling the group that his constituents have been frustrated by the influx of illegal immigrants into the community. Jenkins recently asked council members to establish a task force to study the impact, something they declined to do at the time. But Jenkins said he expects the topic to be brought up again at a later meeting.
"Those on the Town Council have done nothing but turn a deaf ear to citizens who've said loudly, 'We want this addressed,'" Jenkins said. "I've gone on record saying I will not tolerate illegal immigrants in my community."
The Rev. Habacuc Diaz Lopez, pastor at Primera Iglesia Bautista Maranatha in Culpeper who also attended the meeting, said he felt the group was unfairly targeting Hispanics. He also said he worried that prosecuting those who help illegal immigrants could have negative consequences.
"I'm afraid of coming to a point when being a good Samaritan means committing a felony. If I see somebody who is starving, should I close my door or should I help that person?" he asked Taplin.
Taplin responded that feeding or clothing an illegal immigrant would not be against the law. But hiring or housing one should be.
"Being a good Samaritan and aiding and abetting, there's not a fine line there," he said. "There's a clear demarcation."
Bealeton resident Scott Schreiber said plenty of his neighbors have complained to him about illegal immigrants. But none of them showed up last night. He challenged those present to inspire others to address the issue.
"When I get home, I'm going to call four of my neighbors and say where were you tonight?" Schreiber said. "Hold your neighbors' feet to the fire. Ask them, 'Where were you last night?' I was out doing something."
To reach EDIE GROSS:
Email: egross@freelancestar.com
