$3.1 million is the estimated cost of sending 100 Virginia national guard troops to the U.S. border in this month of July 2023, according to Governor Glan Youngkin’s press secretary, Macaulay Porter.

Without offering any proof of fact, Virginia’s governor claimed the sending of Virginia troops was to “fight the flow of criminals, contraband, and deadly drugs into communities across the nation,” as he wrote in his directive authorizing a 30-day deployment.

On behalf of the immigrant community in Centreville and Northern Virginia, and as Chair of the Centreville Immigration Forum board of Directors, I condemn this costly, misguided, ineffective, seemingly hateful, and essentially political action of Virginia’s governor.

I urge the governor to rescind his directive and assist marginalized people in need of housing, medical care, and good education to strengthen the quality of the lives of our residents. Virginia depends on the deeply talented and broadly diverse immigration population for our production, services, and economic strength.

The governor’s directive and statement only serve to feed the chronic sentiment of racism and anti-immigration prejudice of a small minority of our Virginia citizens and threatens the sense of wellbeing so deserving of our immigrants who are investing their lives in this Commonwealth.

Peace,

Jerry Foltz

Rev. Dr. Jerrold L. Foltz

Chair, Centreville Immigration Forum