Latino Solidarity on the Rise in Prince William County

The Washington Post reports that, although not yet enacted into law, the ant-immigration resolution passed by the Prince William Board of County Supervisors has created a sense of siege and solidarity throughout the county’s wider Latino community of about 30,000. Rumors circulate that people will be arrested if they board buses or drop off their children at school. Some legal residents, who bought homes and opened businesses, expecting to stay for years, say they are thinking of leaving.

This response by the Latino community in Prince William County should not be surprising. Time and time again, immigration has masked a debate about the place of Latinos in U.S. society.  This is why Latinos, many of whom are not “open borders” supporters in the least but in fact desire increased immigration enforcement (often combined with legalization), often oppose various restrictionist measures, such as California’s Proposition 187 in 1994.  That is precisely why Republican candidates who position themselves as hawks on immigration enforcement risk alienating Latino voters from the Republican Party for decades to come.

KJ