Prince William County officials have ordered an audit to make sure the police department is following the county's longstanding policy of reporting all people found to be in the country illegally to federal authorities.
County police began checking the immigration status of every person they arrest in 2007. The policy put Prince William at the forefront of a national debate over immigration enforcement. The county has a large Latino population.
Corey Stewart, the Republican chairman of the county's Board of Supervisors, says the policy has been ``a model for communities across the nation.'' By ordering the audit, he says the board wants to ensure that it's being properly implemented.
"In 2007 and 2008, Prince William County implemented what was considered one of the toughest enforcement policies in the nation with regard to illegal immigration reporting," said Stewart. "Our police check the immigration status of every person they arrest on the streets. Our jail system checks the immigration status of 100 percent of the individuals in the jail. We have not had a single finding of racial profiling, and our policies serve as a model for communities across the nation. It is the Board's intent through this directive to make certain this model is being properly implemented here in Prince William County."
