Thread: As Latino population grows, some say city walks line .......

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As Latino population grows, some say city walks line balancing needs
Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2006

by Jaime Ciavarra

Staff Writer

Chris Rossi⁄The Gazette

Day laborers in the parking lot of Grace United Methodist Church on North Frederick Avenue in Gaithersburg huddle around a car looking for work.

As Gaithersburg’s political leaders struggle to find a solution to the city’s hotly debated day laborer issue, Latino and humanitarian advocates warn that further delay could alienate the city’s fastest growing population.
That could lead to future problems, some say, including Latino distrust in local government and a growing racial tension.

‘‘Here we are in front of them, we can be a positive force for this city, but somehow, we’re invisible,” said Jorge Ribas, founder of the Western Maryland Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

At a time when Gaithersburg is continuing to grow in diversity, Ribas says leaders are reaching a pivotal point that will determine the city’s humanitarian legacy.

In the 2000 census, Hispanics made up nearly 20 percent of Gaithersburg’s 52,000-person population. It is the city’s, and the nation’s, fastest growing minority group.

Last week city officials rejected the two most viable sites for a permanent employment center for day laborers after dozens of citizens protested the Olde Towne locations.

Now officials have said other opportunities to find a site for the 50 to 100 mostly Latino men waiting for work each day are slim.

The issue is largely insulated by the legality of helping potentially undocumented men find work.

Ribas says Hispanics, who have traditionally had low voter turnout in city elections, could be more apt to distance themselves from a government they believe doesn’t value their livelihood.

‘‘Hispanics here won’t disappear,” he said. But if a center is ignored, ‘‘It’ll be the mayor and City Council that will look bad.”

Gaithersburg has been here before.

Two decades ago, another vulnerable population, the homeless and addicted, drew ire from residents and business owners who didn’t want them near their property.

After some resident resistance and long community meetings, the city decided to support a church soup kitchen and opened a transitional home, the Wells⁄Robertson House, for homeless and recovering addicts.

Linda Morganstein, the city’s former human services director who helped run Wells⁄Robertson for nearly two decades, says the current controversy is fueled by fear of a ‘‘different looking” population, which could lead to further tension.

‘‘There is a hidden racism here that comes from fearing anything other than the standard white population,” she said. ‘‘If you want compassion and human growth to be the first priority, you have to withstand voices calling to you in fear.

‘‘This is a group that has big numbers in the city. They can’t just be ignored,” she said.

Race has not been directly discussed at public meetings on the topic. Opponents say they do not want a taxpayer-funded center on the basis of workers being illegal, not Latino.

But many maintain the issue is not strictly humanitarian.

Mary Canapery was a leading advocate for the homeless and helped found The Lord’s Table soup kitchen that has fed the hungry in Gaithersburg for more than 20 years.

While she may feed illegal immigrants, she said, she doesn’t necessarily support a center to help them find employment.

Canapery, an immigrant herself, says this issue goes significantly beyond humanitarian help and the realm of former city-supported projects.

‘‘The Wells⁄Robertson House encourages people to keep the laws of the land and get past their addictions,” she said. As for day laborers, ‘‘Those who are illegal would be breaking the law.”

Mayor Sidney A. Katz and other council members agree that the complex national debate on immigration has made this into more than a community issue.

‘‘I think there is a difference ... the whole concern about what Congress has not done or might do certainly [was] not involved in the other projects,” Katz said. ‘‘It’s beyond political.”

Julius J. Persensky, a former councilman who voted to open the Wells⁄Robertson House, says it is political.

He says city leaders are waffling.

‘‘The only way to make big progress is to say, this is a problem. We need to deal with it,” he said.

Like the Wells⁄Robertson House, Persensky says the city would benefit from being able to control a center. He also says the center could be easier to set up than the homeless facility because the laborers may be more willing to cooperate.

Either way, Latino and humanitarian advocates say there is a vulnerable and significant population at stake. It’s a population that is growing, and likely won’t forget, observers say.

‘‘We are frustrated,” said Ribas, who founded a chamber that has about 50 Gaithersburg Latino business members. ‘‘Our position is, there has been a failure of leadership in Gaithersburg.”

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Opponents say they do not want a taxpayer-funded center on the basis of workers being illegal, not Latino.

Excellent point!

Most illegals are latino. Obviously all these cities cannot experience a 5-% gain inp population from LEGAL LATINOS......morons.....They use the same non-sense, and the media refuse to properly call them ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS....