Prince William County, Virginia
To the members of my community in Woodbridge and to all registered voters in the Neabsco Magisterial District:
Our community is facing many serious problems. Students do not have books in the classroom. Teachers have to use their own money to buy school and teaching supplies. Homeowners are facing difficulties paying their mortgages due to resetting interest rates. Many of them are selling their property under stress, some are unable to refinance their loans because home prices have dropped, the value of their loan is higher than that of the house and are now facing foreclosure. Police officers are getting increased responsibilities for which they are not trained and the police department does not have the resources to address those training needs. Our local budget is stretched out already; yet over the next five years alone, the police department will need more than $14 Million to implement one law. The department only has about $325,000 in its budget right now. What do we do? Where do we turn for solutions?
I believe we need to be creative about solutions. The law passed by the Board of County Supervisors of Prince William earlier this year and the most recent decision to deny services to undocumented immigrants is the wrong decision for our community. It increases our budget and cuts our sources of revenue. It raises significant challenges that will only increase costs. It does not deal with the reality that undocumented immigrants are already here. It denies services to people who live among us and contribute to our community. The law prevents them from contributing fully. It causes unnecessary divisiveness, generates anger, and an environment of hostility among neighbors because it is impossible to tell who is and who is not legal at a glance. This law is already affecting us all. Finally, our nation is historically a nation that embraces immigrants. They have come from all corners of the world running away from injustice and persecution. Where has that America gone?
I arrived in the United States on February 22, 1981 seeking refuge from the civil war in El Salvador. Twenty-six years have passed since and my life has changed significantly. It all started in Crystal City, south Arlington. There, as a teenager, for the first time I was able to teach myself how to ride a bicycle. I practiced endlessly at the parking lot of The Pentagon. I fell and bruised myself many times, but I always got up and kept going. I have never looked back. The opportunities that this great nation has given me helped saved my life and the lives of my family. It has not been easy. I have had ups and downs. I remember the day I first rode a metro bus. When I came to my stop and the green light at the exit door lit up, I did not know what to do. Other passengers said to me repeatedly “Push open, push open.” I stood there, friendless, not understanding what they were saying to me.
Today, I have achieved the American Dream. As a citizen, I enjoy the freedoms and protections afforded me by our constitution. Until very recently, I no longer feared for my life and that of my loved ones as I did in El Salvador before I came to the United States. I graduated from Wakefield High in Arlington with honors. Also with honors, I graduated from The Catholic University of America. Over the last couple of years, I have been working on my MBA at Johns Hopkins University. But the most important success I have achieved is to raise my daughter Veronica as a single parent with the support of my family, friends, and a large network of people who embraced us and love us. Today, like most proud parents, I rejoice because my beautiful daughter graduated with honors this past June from CD Hylton High and is a first year student at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.
I am a homeowner, have lived in Woodbridge for 21 years and in my community at Lakeside for more than 10 years. As a professional, I have and continue to work arduously on national policies to improve the lives of all people, especially women, children and families. I have worked extensively on public health issues. Over the last three years, I have focused on economic justice fighting to eliminate predatory lending practices from financial markets.As a citizen, I take my duties seriously and promote democracy. For a number of years I have worked with our county board of elections as an election officer. The freedom to exercise our democracy without fear is what makes me love this country. I am an American by choice, not by chance.
The last few months, my heart has been torn as I watched the developments in my community, while, at the same time, I focused on the daily routine of work, school, parenting, and paying the bills on time. Every day, I wake up motivated to go to work. Increasingly, it has been more and more difficult to go about business as usual as though the issues in my community do not affect me. Even when driving around my neighborhood, strangers have verbally expressed hostility by yelling insults in the presence of my daughter. In my neighborhood, and commuting to work, I have spoken to African Americans and Whites, Democrats and Republicans. They have offered words of encouragement and support. They have also expressed frustrations and dissatisfaction with the process. My community is divided and the policies being implemented do not address our reality. Therefore, I have decided to run for the office of Board of County Supervisor in the Neabsco Magisterial District as a write-in candidate.
I am not a politician. I am a concerned citizen who firmly believes there is a better way. I promise to listen to all sides of this and all issues affecting our community, to respect all voices and the dignity of all people. I promise to work toward compassionate solutions that work.
I believe that the American Dream of prosperity I have fought so hard to achieve is similar to the dream of all families. The issue that today divides us is complex with many ramifications; much of them economic in nature. Many industries in our society require cheap labor to remain competitive in a global economy. Undocumented immigrants take on all types of jobs to earn a living under circumstances and conditions slightly above wage slavery that no other American would accept. They are willing to take low pay without health insurance or other benefits. They operate lawn mowers; landscape our neighborhoods; build our homes, commercial buildings and highways. They plant and sow the vegetables on our tables. They pack meats and poultry. They care for cattle, horses and other farm animals. They clean hotel rooms and office buildings. They cook and serve our food at restaurants. They are the invaluable baby-sitters and care-givers so we can pursue higher income jobs. Many of them are military personnel willing to lay their lives on the battlefield to protect our freedoms as any examination of the rolls of the honored dead in Iraq and Afghanistan reveals. They are members of communities of faith who fellowship with us. They are mothers and fathers working hard to ascertain that their children have a better quality of life than they ever did. Their hope for the future is no different than mine or that of the community at large. Undocumented immigrants who, through the Internal Revenue Service, have obtained an individual tax identification number pay federal, state, and other taxes through employer deductions. When all of them purchase food, clothing, and other services, they pay the respective sales tax on goods and services. Those who are homeowners pay property taxes based on the assessed value of their homes. Every year, by October 5th, they are among the automobile owners who pay the car tax in advance of the year for which that tax is assessed. With this law, their participation is restricted further and they cannot contribute as much as they can to our community.
Let me be clear, I am not promoting law-breaking behavior. Some of our federal and state laws already deny services to the undocumented, additional restrictions are unnecessary. They do not receive Social Security or welfare benefits. Our Virginia institutions of higher learning, including all state-funded community colleges, require legal status for student enrollment. Admission is denied even if students are willing to pay for out-of-state tuition. The Virginia Department of Transportation denies them drivers licenses through the implementation of our “legal presence” law. Regarding minors’ access to public education, the U.S. Supreme Court in Plyler v. Doe in 1982, established that no state or local jurisdiction may deny access to undocumented children. The court said that children are not responsible for the behavior of their parents, that the benefits of education do more good than harm.Perhaps a more effective solution to our financial concerns would be to stop racial profiling immediately; to grant those members of our community with undocumented status permission to work in our county and to assess taxes on all wages. Demand that employers pay all workers no less than minimum wage. Penalize all employers in violation of the law who exploit people. And press on our federal officials to make our immigration laws work. I believe that it is within our interest to provide access to health services to all residents in our county, lest our elected officials and health authorities want to create a public health threat to all county residents. It is also within our public interest to make sure that all children have access to public and higher education, lest our public officials are interested in fostering illiteracy and leaving behind a whole class of children unprepared to enter the work force.
Therefore, I say YES to an honest and civil discourse about the complex issues before us today. I say YES to the unification of our community that we may respect each other as we seek compassionate solutions to a difficult dilemma. I say YES to the responsibility of presenting these views, seeking, defining, and implementing better solutions.
Join me in this effort. Together we can be agents of change. On November 6th, vote for a new voice, vote for Aracely Panameño, write-in candidate for the position of Supervisor for the Neabsco Magisterial District.
Thank you,
Aracely Panameno
