HANOVER COUNTY, Va. — Teresa Lopez de Ocanas moved to this country from Mexico 21 years ago.
“We love it,” Lopez de Ocanas said.
She now owns and operates a Latino store, Los Regios, in Ashland.
“Everyone who leaves their country, it’s just to have a better life,” she said.
She said she has worked with the Ashland Police Department over the years to build bridges with the local Latino community.
“Right now, the Ashland Police Department has been working a lot on making sure we feel safe,” Lopez de Ocanas said.
Lopez de Ocanas said she is concerned about Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s push to pull funding from localities that declare themselves sanctuary cities or refuse to cooperate with ICE.
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Youngkin's push to cut funding to 'sanctuary cities' sparks mixed reactions
“I don’t think it will help if the community feels targeted,” Lopez de Ocanas said. “The people won’t feel safe to go to [the police].”
We asked the Governor’s spokesperson if he would pull funding from law enforcement departments that refused to check people’s immigration status when they pulled them over, for example, and we are waiting to hear back.
“They are going to target on us if they start doing that,” Lopez de Ocanas said.
But, Yael Levin, who also lives in Hanover, disagrees with Lopez de Ocanas’ perspective.
“If you are committing a crime or suspected of committing a crime, I think it’s a legitimate question,” Levin said.
Levin said she was thrilled to read about the governor’s push to ban sanctuary cities.
“I was very happy,” Levin said.
Levin said she believes the proposal is not about hunting down undocumented immigrants.
Instead, she said it will make all Virginians safer.
“I don’t think it’s any secret that among the millions who crossed our border illegally, there are some who are criminals, sex traffickers, drug traffickers, terrorists,” Levin said. “I would like to see all local governments cooperate with ICE regardless of who the president is.”
Conversely, Lopez de Ocanas said she sees the Governor’s announcement as indicative of recent anti-immigrant rhetoric and sentiments that seem to be ramping up.
“Some people say they are getting our jobs," Lopez de Ocanas said. "We work hard, whether you’re legal or not, we immigrated to this country, and I think we make this country better for everything we do here. If you don’t find a job, don’t blame us."
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
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