Some residents in Loudoun County, Virginia are blaming illegal immigration for the recent increase in violent crime in the community of Sterling Park.

As Jessica Forres reports, they voiced those concerns at a neighborhood meeting last night ....

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County Sheriff Steve Simpson stands in front of more than 2-hundred
people at Park View High School where he's asking residents for help...

TO WHAT DEGREE YOU'RE WILLING TO DO THAT I DON'T KNOW, BUT THAT IS
SOMETHING THAT WE ALWAYS LOOK AT AS NEIGHBORHOOD WATCHES AND PEOPLE
GETTING INVOLVED AND PEOPLE CALLING IN INCIDENTS THAT WE SEE OR YOU
SEE THAT LOOK SUSPICIOUS.

But his words prompt a very different kind of reaction......

[WELL I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ABOUT WHAT WE NEED, WE WANT TO HEAR ABOUT
WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO DO]

As the discussion continues, it becomes clear that some residents blame illegal immigrants for what's happening in Sterling Park....

[WE DIDN'T HAVE A GANG PROBLEM A YEAR AGO…THAT'S RIGHT…BUT THE SHERIFF
DIDN'T HAVE A PROBLEM SAYING HE WASN'T GOING TO GO AFTER ILLEGALS. SIR
PLEASE.. THOSE ARE THE REAL ISSUES THAT THIS MAN IS SPEAKING ABOUT.
YOU'RE UP HERE GIVING US A BUNCH OF FLUFF]

The Sheriff's Office doesn't record whether a crime was committed by an illegal immigrant and when we reached Simpson by phone today to address the allegations...he said there's more to it than simply pointing a finger at a particular group...

AS WE HAVE FOUND OUT IN DEALING WITH OUR GANG MEMBERS AND DEALING WITH THE CRIME ELEMENT THAT WE DO HAVE, THEY'RE NOT ILLEGAL, SOME ARE YES AND SOME ARE NOT MOST ARE NOT.

Four of the nine members of the county board of supervisors attended the meeting and the full board has previously discussed whether illegal immigration is responsible for the recent uptick in crime.

But Supervisor Eugene Delgaudio says he and others who want local laws
addressing illegal immigration don't have the votes needed to make them happen.

Jessica Forres WAMU