Tejada Responds to HB 570

Arlington County Board Member J. Walter Tejada spoke out against House Bill 570, according to the Washington Post and in the Associated Press. Joining a press conference with the Virginia Alliance for Sensible Community Police Efforts, Tejada said that "we are in favor of stopping terrorism, gang activity and drug trafficking, but what this law will do is make a vulnerable community" even more vulnerable." He also stated that misinformation about the law has caused fear among immigrants. A possible consequence, he said, is that immigrants "will not report crime."

The Virginia Alliance is "a coalition of advocates and community leaders [who] encouraged immigrants to continue to cooperate with local police departments on criminal investigations despite a new Virginia law allowing them to detain some illegal immigrants without a warrant." The Washington Post reported that "the law, which will take effect July 1, allows police to arrest and hold illegal immigrants who return to this country after being convicted of felonies and deported. Police will be able to hold suspects as long as 72 hours without bond while waiting for federal immigration agents to pick them up."

Tejada and Community Role Models

Arlington County Board Member J. Walter Tejada's efforts in the Community Role Models program was highlighted in The Connection. The program is organized by the county’s Volunteer Office to attract young, working adults who might be interested in volunteering, with a special focus on finding volunteers for youth services, environmental and community development programs. Last week, "county staffers and current volunteers gathered with 100 young adults at Whitlow’s on Wilson to celebrate the kickoff of Community Role Models, and to attract young volunteers to the program."

Sara Girovasi-Marron, a member of the Community Role Models task force organizing the program, said that the central idea is “to get people in their 20s and 30s involved … a lot of them may not be involved in civic life, and may not know how. Finding younger volunteers can help local programs. But the process can also let young adults know that they play a role in the community.”

Tejada worked with staffers and young working adults to form the Community Role Models task force and plan for the program last week. In addition, Tejada named the program and last week declared that “this county-wide program will tap into the one-third of Arlington’s population who may not otherwise be engaged in our civic life and seek to connect this valuable resource with youngsters who could benefit from a caring adult in their lives.”