ARLINGTON COUNTY, VA - Arlington County, Virginia, is reportedly ground zero for a controversy that has critics suggesting the matter is a violation of federal immigration law, as county officials have reportedly unveiled a new taxpayer-funded policy that monetarily rewards family members of individuals who’ve either been detained or deported by federal immigration authorities.
According to reports coming out of Arlington County, the County Board has set aside $50,000 for grants to monetarily compensate families whose “primary wage earner” was the subject of detention or deportation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Eligible families can reportedly be gifted up to $2,000 in taxpayer money in the event one of their family members happened to be arrested for violating federal immigration law.
Board Chair Matt de Ferranti said during the September 2 special board meeting at which the endeavor was approved in a 4-0 vote, “We stand with our immigrant families, and we will not stop doing so. We are valuing the families of those that have been displaced and removed.”
The move to use taxpayer dollars to seemingly reward families of those facing civil immigration proceedings has sparked criticism over both the use of taxpayer funds and whether the effort potentially violates federal law.
Former acting ICE Director Jonathan Fahey commented on the latter controversial aspect of the endeavor, saying, “If you look at the alien harboring statute – do you do anything to encourage or induce people to either come illegally or that are illegally here to stay, that could be arguably a violation of the alien harboring statute.”
Fahey expanded on his rationale for the matter, explaining that where one illegal immigrant exists among a family unit stateside, there’s a strong likelihood that there are other illegal immigrants, to whom the taxpayer-funded money from the Arlington County grants would potentially be handed over directly.
“By giving money to people…the reasonable inference is that these people are also illegal, the money enables them to stay in the country illegally, because they lost their breadwinner,” Fahey explained.
Fahey even pointed to comments made by Arlington County Manager Mark Schwartz on the program rollout, in which Schwartz openly stated, “A lot of these families are unbanked,” which in Fahey’s mind points to an awareness that many of the would-be beneficiaries of this grant are illegally in the country.
“That shows the county knows the money is going to be going to people that are illegally here and it will help them stay,” Fahey stated, adding, “So that's where I think the alien harboring statute comes into play.”
Meanwhile, Homeland Security officials are reportedly outraged that taxpayer money is being used to “reward illegal aliens,” as one agency spokesperson described the matter. According to the agency spokesperson, the monetary gift crafted by Arlington County Democrats for families of illegal immigrants illustrates “once again who they put first.”
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