Mark Jaworowski co-founded Save Stafford, the grass-roots group that is exerting pressure on the state and county to crack down on illegal immigration. The group's membership has exceeded 100. Peter Cihelka/THE FREE LANCE-STAR

Mark Jaworowski is a co-founder of Save Stafford, which wants the state and county to crack down on illegal immigration

Date published: 2/26/2008

BY KAFIA HOSH

As a Stafford County task force tries to assess the effects of illegal immigration, some of its residents have started tackling the issue themselves.

Save Stafford is a group of about 90 residents who are exerting pressure on the state and county to crack down on illegal immigration.

Mark Jaworowski, 52, a Hampton Oaks resident, is a co-founder of the group.

He said he started Save Stafford because the federal government has ignored the anti-illegal-immigration sentiment in the country.

"I was really upset at the federal government's inability to listen to the citizenry," Jaworowski said. "I thought since our congresspeople are not listening, why don't we start with the Board of Supervisors?"

Since the group's launch in October, Save Stafford members have attended the Illegal Immigration Task Force's public hearings about Stafford's undocumented population. The task force includes members from county agencies such as Social Services, schools, the Health Department and law enforcement.

In addition, Save Stafford has expressed its concerns in meetings with Del. Mark Cole and House of Delegates Speaker William Howell.

The group wants Stafford to follow the lead of Prince William County, where officials recently voted to deny illegal immigrants county services.

Jaworowski said the task force is a step in the right direction.

"Stafford County can serve perhaps as a guide, if other folks in other counties can see what we're doing," he said.

But does Stafford County have an illegal-immigration problem? Jaworowski said he's not sure. However, he said, overcrowded homes and driveways overflowing with cars are looming signs of a problem.

"When you have 20 people living in a home, there's going to be sort of evidence of that," Jaworowski said.

Federal laws bar school systems from asking students about their residency status. And as Stafford schools have grown more diverse, Jaworowski said, he "would guess that a large portion is probably illegal immigrants."

So, creation of the county's task force and Save Stafford are "proactive measures" Jaworowski said.

Jaworowski is a retired Army officer who moved to Stafford nine years ago from Virginia Beach.

He said he understands the desire of immigrants--legal or not--who seek a better life in the United States.

During his time in the military, Jaworowski was deployed to a rural area of Honduras.

"You could see firsthand the poverty," he said. "I understand the point of view of the impoverished person living in a country where the government has failed them.

Jaworowski himself has ties to immigration.

His grandparents immigrated from Poland in the 1920s.

The son of a U.S. Postal Service worker, Jaworowski grew up in a public housing project in New York City.

He said Save Stafford members are of diverse backgrounds, and include Indian, Chinese and Mexican immigrants.

"They're ticked at illegal immigrants, or the country's attitudes, because they were the ones that played by the rules," Jaworowski said. "It took a long time for them to come here, and they don't like the fact that others can jump in line and get ahead and demand certain rights."

Kafia Hosh: 540/735-1977
Email: khosh@freelancestar.com

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Date published: 2/26/2008

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