Centreville town hall on day-labor work center gets ugly
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By Derek Kravitz

Tuesday, June 1, 2010; 11:30 PM

A town-hall-style meeting Tuesday night about a proposed de facto day-labor work center in Centreville was expected to be fiery.

It wasn't just fiery. It got ugly.

The two-hour-long meeting was organized by Fairfax County Supervisor Michael R. Frey (R-Sully) to gather community opinion about a planned day-labor center -- privately funded and staffed by church volunteers -- at the Centreville Square Shopping Center. Nonprofits and church groups have said a work center could address concerns from stores and neighbors, who say the bands of Guatemalan immigrants who look for work near shops and the nearby public library are intimidating and a nuisance.

At least some of the men, church groups and Frey said, are undocumented immigrants.

At several points, many in the crowd of at least 300 in the cafeteria of Centreville's Centre Ridge Elementary School snickered, sneered and yelled at each other and at Frey, who moderated the forum.

One man yelled, "You lie!" at Frey when he began speaking about Fairfax County's partnership with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement jail programs. At another point, a shouting match erupted between a speaker and Frey, a moderate Republican who has represented the Sully section of Fairfax County since the district was created in 1991.

"I'm not going to claim this is an end-all," Frey said. "Do people feel like moving the workers to a location that's less visible and less prominent, where it could be controlled? Does it make it better?"

The question was met with a chorus of boos.

Most of those who spoke said they opposed a day-labor work center, questioning whether the trailer would invite more crime and traffic.


"They have become a problem for our stores after hours and it's gotten bad," said Marsha Goodman, 55, of Centreville, who said she works at the shopping center's Giant location. "I don't see how bringing them closer to the stores would make it better."

Del. Timothy D. Hugo (R-Fairfax), who represents Centreville's 50,000 residents in the Virginia General Assembly, called the potential work center a "magnet" for potential criminal activity.

One shopkeeper, Gary Malm, the owner of Centreville Tire and Auto, which is near the proposed site of the work center trailer, said its presence would also hurt business and be "catastrophic for me."

It appeared that few, if any, of the immigrant day laborers who routinely stand near the corners of Lee Highway and Centreville Road attended the meeting. Some of the church volunteers who three years ago organized themselves into the Centreville Immigration Forum, a group of about 40 people who work with the community's Hispanic population, were present and stressed that the work center could move the immigrants to a safer and less trafficked location.

"We have an unorganized day-laboring center right now, spread out over many different corners of Centreville," said Alice H. Foltz, the "convener" of the Centreville Immigration Forum. "What we're talking about is an organized day-laboring center. It would respond to concerns about crime, about safety, about ensuring the workers to pay taxes."

When Foltz referenced taxes, many sighed loudly and yelled.

A handful spoke in support of the work center, arguing that it could help many immigrants who are sometimes exploited by employers.

"Some are legal. They pay rent here. They shop here. They do have families. They do need jobs. The center is just facilitating that," said Hilda Rexach, 54, of Springfield. "They are not going away. They are a part of your community."

Foltz said those participating in the day-labor center would get membership cards and employers would be required to identify themselves and register with the nonprofit during a six-hour stretch, from 6 a.m. to noon. Immigration status would not be checked, she said.

Albert J. Dwoskin, the Northern Virginia developer who owns and manages portions of the shopping center, said he considered it "reasonable" to provide a trailer for a day laborer if it could be staffed.

"Until there's a job for them to go to, they're not going to leave," said Dwoskin, a longtime Democratic Party donor.

After the meeting, Dwoskin said he personally had received a largely positive reaction Tuesday to his proposal, along with two "threatening" phone calls.

Frey said he expected the "mixed response" to the work center plan and said his office would evaluate its options with Dwoskin in the coming weeks.


The town hall forum is slated to air this week on Fairfax Public Access Channel's "Inside Scoop" series.

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