Movie Review: 9500 Liberty

The release of the new documentary "9500 Liberty" couldn't be more timely.

Directed by Eric Byler and Annabel Park, "Liberty" focuses on a 2007 law that required police in Virginia's Prince William County to ask for citizenship documentation of anyone they suspected of being in the country illegally.

The law, of course, mirrored recent legislation in Arizona and raised questions of racial profiling and civil rights violations.

Much of the action in "Liberty" centers on Greg Letiecq, a blogger turned political activist who's president of Help Save Manassas, a Virginia group dedicated to reducing the number of undocumented workers in the area.

Through his rising political influence, Letiecq helps persuade the local board of supervisors to pass the immigration legislation, even though the local police chief warns that such a measure would rapidly escalate expenses and lead to potential legal problems.

Letiecq's biggest ally in the fight is Corey A. Stewart, chairman of the board of supervisors. And both Letiecq and Stewart claim that the rapidly rising number of immigrants in the area in the late 2000s led to a rise in crime as well as higher social and medical spending expenses for the government.

Filmmakers Byler and Park open the documentary with a tense confrontation between immigrants and a man who expresses anger about hearing Spanish being spoken by a cashier at a store. (Byler will attend the 7:45 p.m. screening today at the Dobie.)

When the clash occurred in 2007, the filmmakers posted a video of it on YouTube, leading to a series of interactive postings that focused on immigration tensions and ultimately became "9500 Liberty."

The title of the film refers to the address where a banner was built by a Hispanic resident, accusing the county of racism. The banner became a flashpoint in the debate.

Byler and Park let all sides have their say, but it's clear their sympathies tend to lie with the immigrants.

The net effect of the uproar? Hispanic people start leaving the county; business closings rise; home foreclosures skyrocket, all of which exacerbate the effects of a national economic downturn. And people begin to have second thoughts about the new law.

It would be foolhardy to say that "9500 Liberty" offers a road map to what will happen in Arizona. But the documentary details the economic consequences of such laws and raises questions about Arizona's near-term future.