Thread: Herndon, Virginia Forms Its Own Minuteman Project

This can be found on Lou Dobb's transcripts at www.cnn.com

DOBBS: Washington, D.C. suburb Herndon, Virginia, is a city in the midst of an illegal alien crisis. Residents say they feel betrayed by what they say is their city's complete lack of concern over Herndon day laborers, many of whom are in this country illegally. This week, residents begin their own Minuteman movement to rid their city of illegal alien workers. Lisa Sylvester reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They come by the dozens, laborers swarm this vehicle hoping to be hired for the day. Like many towns Herndon, Virginia has seen a surge in illegal workers. The town council recently approved building a work center for them using taxpayer money over the loud objections of its citizens. Among them, Herndon resident George Taplin. He says he loves the diversity of an immigrant community, but he adamantly opposes law breakers.

GEORGE TAPLIN, HERNDON RESIDENT: I mean, the law is the law. If you're illegal, if your political status is illegal, illegal means illegal. It doesn't mean illegal on Tuesdays and Wendesdays and legal the rest of the time. It doesn't mean illegal when you're at home and legal when you find a job. It means illegal.

SYLVESTER: Taplin is heading a new group of 60 Minutemen in Herndon, inspired by the patrols along the Arizona border. Residents take pictures of day laborers and record the license plate numbers of employers who hire them. TAPLIN: Our real focus is to go after American businessman, American business people that are basically abusing the immigrants for their own benefit. And once we get them to stop doing what they're doing, then there's no reason for the immigrants to be here.

SYLVESTER: While some raised privacy concerns it's all perfectly legal. Immigration reform groups see it as a sign of rising frustration.

MARK KRIKORIAN, CENTER FOR IMMIGRATION STUDIES: As illegal immigration spreads and as local and state governments continue to collude with illegal immigration, we're going to see more citizens coming up with imaginative ways of addressing this problem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SYLVESTER: And the Herndon Minutemen will start the patrols on Wednesday. And we'll show them. We'll show you if there are any confrontations. George Taplin says they are taking the nonconfrontational approach. They will be silent observers, just recording what goes on, Lou?

DOBBS: And this is reminiscent of what happened in Jupiter, Florida, there, where our producers, our crews in point of fact were threatened by those hiring illegal aliens. So we want to you be extraordinarily careful.

Lisa Sylvester, thank you.

"LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They come by the dozens, laborers swarm this vehicle hoping to be hired for the day"

You see this a lot. just how many do not get hired every day ?? Does this not say that there are to many here for the available jobs (caused by the employers hiring cheap labor).

Those residents in Herndon are just being INTIMIDATED by these illegals. They are afraid to go to convenience stores, etc. for fear of being assaulted by them. I tell you one thing--I would not hire ONE of them that didn't speak ENGLISH.