Tension has been growing between Hispanic leaders and Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold (R) since he cut funding for two nonprofit organizations that serve immigrants, some of whom may be illegal.
As part of his overall effort to reduce expenditures in the county's 2008 fiscal plan, Leopold cut about $115,000 for Centro de Ayudaand the Organization for Hispanic and Latin Americans, which provide job referrals, legal assistance and other services to Hispanic immigrants.
"My budget reflected my philosophy," Leopold said recently. "And it reflected the values of residents who oppose providing services to illegal immigrants. With limited resources in the county, we can't sufficiently provide services to the legal residents, let alone the illegal ones."
In Anne Arundel, where Hispanics make up less than 4 percent of the population, immigration issues have not prompted as much debate among county leaders as in some areas. But Leopold's budget cuts coincide with growing concerns about illegal immigrants elsewhere in the Washington area, including two Northern Virginia counties that recently passed resolutions to limit county services to illegal immigrants and penalize their employers.
"We do so much in this county, and Leopold cut us right at the knees," Mary Schumaker, founder and past president of Centro de Ayuda, said in an interview last week. The $100,000 that the agency received from the county last year made up the bulk of its budget, she said.
In all, Leopold cut nearly $3.2 million for nonprofit groups, though he eventually restored $815,000. None of that, however, went to either of the Hispanic organizations.
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