By Tom McClimon
February 11, 2008

The role of state capital cities in the immigration debate was the major focus of the meeting of the Capital Cities Taskforce. Under the leadership of Richmond (VA) Mayor L. Douglas Wilder, the mayors discussed such issues as reimbursement of the cost of law enforcement; the delivery of social services and education to children and families; and establishing venues for protests related to immigration enforcement.

Many of the mayors cited their efforts to encourage immigrants to obey the laws and report criminal behavior without fear of immigration deportation. Many of the cities also have state laws that permit the children of immigrants to fully participate in the public education and higher education systems.

As the immigration issue is an issue that affects all cities, the mayors decided to ask Wilder to take their concerns to the leadership of the Homeland Security Task Force and the Criminal and Social Justice Committee, especially with regards to a policy that encourages all cities to provide a comprehensive law enforcement program that takes action against all illegal criminal activities.

Alan Fishel, inventor of Geoplunge, a card game that teaches children about US geography, addressed the group. This game taught at the elementary school level uses the competitive spirit found in athletic sports to teach children about state capital cities and state facts. Playing more than 30 different card games, children compete in teams at tournaments to demonstrate their knowledge of state geography information.