Corey Stewart Plans to Have Prince William's Criminal Illegal Immigrants Deported

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corey_stewartPrince William Chairman At-large Corey Stewart advises illegal immigrants to leave, saying he intends to work with ICE to deport illegal aliens previously arrested in the county.

The Washington Post’s article “Trump win shakes up 2017 race for governor” quotes Stewart as saying he wants to hunt down illegal immigrants in the county.

"If you’re an illegal alien in Prince William County, I’d get out,” said Stewart, who chairs the county's board of supervisors. “It’s the very first thing I’m going to do with a friendly Trump administration. Now we’re going to find out where each and every one of these guys is, and we’re going to hunt them down and we’re going to deport them.”

That is only partially true, according to Stewart, who hopes to be the Republican nominee for the Virginia Governor's race.  Stewart explains he mainly wants to go after criminal illegal aliens: those who have already committed a crime and have been arrested for them.

In a phone interview, Friday, Stewart said there have been more than 7500 illegal immigrants who Prince William County has turned over to ICE after they have been arrested. This number spans the past ten years.

ICE has not deported many of these individuals. Stewart said he know this because one in ten ends up rearrested in the county. For that reason, he wants to see that these individuals are deported, but to do so, the county will work within the law and policy 287G.

Stewart said a local jurisdiction could not just round up illegal immigrants. Further, he will not be asking county police to racially profile residents.

However, he does hope to find those who have already been arrested in the past.

“These are people who have committed crimes; I’m not talking about stopping people at traffic stops to see if they are here legally. [I am talking about those] who we had in our custody,” Stewart said.

Stewart is anticipating the Trump administration will direct ICE to work much more cooperatively with local jurisdictions than the federal agency did under Obama or even George W. Bush.

“Securing the boarder, immigration enforcement and bringing back jobs - it’s a promise that made, and I believe he is going to keep it. I'm confident he will,” said Stewart, who was previously served as Trump’s Virginia Chairman.

Trump, Stewart believes, will create opportunities for jurisdictions in aid in deportation.

“Now we can hunt them down, re-arrest them, hand them over to the federal authorities and have them deported,” Stewart said.

Stewart says he is not anti-immigrant, and not anti-Latino, but he believes immigration should be conducted in a legal manner.

“I’ve been dealing with the issue now for almost ten years now. A lot of people in the media take the word ‘illegal’ out and say ‘the anti-immigrant Corey Stewart.’ It’s not about Hispanics, and it’s not about any other ethnic group. It’s about illegal immigrants, especially those who commit crimes.”

Regardless, this news is likely still frightening for undocumented immigrants who have made Prince William County their home. Not so long ago, they were hoping they would receive a path to citizenship.

Much of their hopes were dashed last week when it was announced Trump had been elected president. If his campaign was any indication, cracking down on illegal immigration will be his top priority. Additionally, Stewart has no interest in making Prince William a safe haven for undocumented immigrants.

Stewart suggests illegal immigrants leave the U.S. or turn themselves over to authorities.

“Yes, I would advise them to turn themselves over to immigration officials, and either make themselves legal, or come back to their home country and come back in the legal way,” Stewart said.

He remains a staunch opponent of illegal immigration, but says he is in favor of legal immigration.

“If you are going to come into the country, you have to come in towards the front door. That is good for everyone,” said Stewart. “I strongly support legal immigration. My wife is an immigrant. I’m not against immigration I’m against illegal immigration.”

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