Washington Post
MARYLAND -- Public anger against illegal immigrants, already entrenched in parts of Northern Virginia, is seeping into Maryland. With legislators facing unprecedented demands to take action, fears of a crackdown are spreading among illegal immigrants in a state that has been more tolerant of them.
A record 20 bills targeting illegal immigrants have been introduced in the state legislature this session. Although none of the bills is expected to survive, their supporters are far more vocal and organized than in the past, and the movement has gained recent support in Maryland communities that include Mount Rainier, Gaithersburg and Taneytown.
"If there is any doubt that people like me truly represent the overwhelming majority on this issue, show some courage and put it on a referendum," Margaret Montuori of Bethesda told the House Judiciary Committee at a hearing last week.
Last fall, a Washington Post poll found that about half of Maryland residents considered illegal immigration a problem and that Marylanders were more apt than Virginians to call it a "very serious" problem. Eighty-five percent of those surveyed said they wanted state and local government to take an active role in dealing with the issue.
Maryland taxpayers your pockets are about to be picked by the state to fund all these new arrivals that just left Virginia.