Thread: Minutemen Take Campaign to Md. Centers

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Minutemen Take Campaign to Md. Centers
Group Expands Protest of Anti-Illegal Immigration Amid Accusations of Intimidation

By Nancy Trejos
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, February 26, 2006; C06



The Minutemen have crossed the border.

After waging a high-profile fight in Northern Virginia against a center where employers can go to hire temporary workers, the anti-illegal immigration group has expanded into Maryland. In recent weeks, its members have patrolled centers funded by the Montgomery County government in Wheaton and Takoma Park that assist day laborers. They also have monitored a Gaithersburg parking lot as well as others in Montgomery and Prince George's County where men gather almost every morning, said Stephen Schreiman, director of the group's new chapter.

"The objective here is to send a clear message to the business community that it's illegal to hire undocumented workers and it's illegal not to pay appropriate taxes," said Schreiman, who couldn't specifically say how many people had joined the new chapter.

The group said it has recruited dozens of volunteers who plan to photograph laborers and the people seeking to hire them at centers in Silver Spring and Baltimore. Typically, three to six people take pictures at each site on any morning, Schreiman said. Day-laborer centers provide jobs for illegal immigrants and should not be funded by a county government, the group says.

But advocates for immigrants say the sole purpose is intimidation.

"The good news is that these Minutemen are yet another in the long line of radical fringe groups that will die of their own weight in Montgomery County because they don't speak for Montgomery County," said County Council member Tom Perez (D-Silver Spring). About 40 percent of the county's 930,000 residents are foreign born.

The Minuteman Project began attracting national attention when members initiated civilian patrols of the Mexican border in an effort to inhibit border crossings. The opening of a day-laborer center in Herndon last year galvanized the group and its opponents in Northern Virginia.

Montgomery has become a battleground in the debate because of its efforts to expand services to immigrants, regardless of their legal status. The county-funded centers in Silver Spring and Wheaton -- as well as the temporary site in Takoma Park -- are run by CASA of Maryland, a nonprofit advocacy group.

The Maryland Minutemen formed amid controversy over the county's efforts to open another center in Gaithersburg. Local officials found a building, signed a lease and allocated money for the center. Then, city officials reversed course in October after residents complained. Gaithersburg's mayor and City Council have appointed a task force to decide on the next move.

Typically, 50 workers gather in the parking lot of Grace United Methodist Church almost every morning. On Friday, about a dozen men stood outside while another dozen sipped coffee and ate ham-and-cheese sandwiches inside.

"When you come here, you come to work, not to harm anyone," said Alvaro Soto, 45, who moved to Maryland last month after spending a year in New York. He said he sends money home to his family in Guatemala.

Schreiman, a Gaithersburg resident, said his Minutemen members believe CASA of Maryland should either stop serving undocumented workers or give up public funding. "We're talking about people who shouldn't be here, and they're having a negative impact on the quality of life," he said.

Supporters of the day-laborer centers criticize what they call the extreme tactics of the Minutemen. They argue that the group's dispute should be with the federal government, which enforces immigration laws.

"They ought to get on the Red Line, get off at Union Station, walk to Capitol Hill and engage in a dialogue about immigration reform," Perez said. "Their beef is with people in Congress."

Immigration advocates have attempted to turn the tables on the Minutemen.

Gustavo Torres, executive director of CASA of Maryland, said his organization is training people to observe and take photos of the Minutemen's members. "If they keep harassing our community, we are going to demonstrate in front of their houses and in front of their workplaces to let the neighborhood know how anti-immigrant they are," he said. "It's going to be a shame for their family."

Schreiman said he was attacked with a laser pointer earlier this month when he went to the parking lot next to Grace United Methodist by himself to photograph workers and employers. He said he filed a report with the police after experiencing a headache for 10 hours.

In Maryland, as in Arizona, Virginia and a number of other states, illegal immigration has become a hot-button political issue.

Several immigration-related bills have been introduced in Annapolis this legislative session, including one that would require Marylanders to prove they are in the country legally to get a driver's license. Another bill seeks to make English the official language of Baltimore County.

The issue has crept into the race for Montgomery county executive. On Friday, Chuck Floyd, 56, a former State Department employee, announced his bid for the Republican nomination, promising to keep day-laborer centers from serving undocumented workers.

"It's time for the public officials elected to stand up and say enough is enough and enforce the law," he said.

Day-laborer center supporters say a national wave of anti-immigration sentiment is fueling the opposition.

"What I'm hearing now is that it's okay to speak in common circles against the immigrant," said Del. Ana Sol Gutierrez (D), a Salvadoran immigrant who represents Montgomery. "The tone, the acceptance, is what I've never seen here, and I've lived in the U.S. close to 60 years."

Typically, 50 workers gather in the parking lot of Grace United Methodist Church almost every morning.

And why isn't this construed as loitering? If you lived in the neighborhoods where these people gather to hang around on the street corner, wouldn't you call the cops? Wouldn't you consider 50 people a gang?