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Residents and service providers press James City County on shelter funding and immigration enforcement
Summary
Speakers at the Board of Supervisors meeting urged the county to support Community of Faith Mission's sheltering work, described inspection costs and overflow hotel use, and called on board members to communicate local impacts of federal immigration enforcement to state and national officials.
Donnie McDaniel, executive director of Community of Faith Mission, told the James City County Board of Supervisors that COFM has stepped in during overflow periods and asked the county to consider the nonprofit when setting budget priorities. "When we're talking about hotel stays ... we're talking well less than $1,000 for assistance," McDaniel said, and added that COFM had sheltered 117 unique individuals as of his remarks and later updated the tally to 119.
McDaniel said inspection fees for each shelter site exceed $1,200 and that COFM's in-kind sheltering since 2012 has saved James City County an estimated $550,000. "If we take 40% of that amount ... COFM has saved James City County over $550,000," he said, asking the board to factor the organization into budget deliberations.
Several other public commenters raised concerns about immigration enforcement in the community after recent federal actions. A resident, Dr. Steven Staples, described a local business operator who said he was taken into custody during a required immigration check-in, detained near a regional facility and deported within days without a local hearing. "He had no time for a hearing or to even explain the status he was given and the process he was going through," Staples said, urging supervisors to tell state and federal policymakers how enforcement actions affect families here.
Speakers affiliated with Virginia Organizing said immigrants in the area are increasingly fearful to leave their homes and asked the board to consider the local impacts of federal policy when allocating county resources. Board members responded by noting limits on local authority over federal immigration enforcement while saying the board can communicate concerns to elected state and federal officials and consider local policies that affect cooperation with outside agencies.
The board did not take formal action on immigration-related requests during the meeting. It did hear and accept COFM's statements for consideration in upcoming budget conversations.
