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Herndon, Virginia to Seek New Operator for Day Laborer Site
Written by Tom Fitton
Saturday, January 20, 2007


It took a Judicial Watch lawsuit, but it appears the Herndon Town Council may finally get serious about making sure its day laborer site is operated in a manner consistent with state and federal laws. In response to a lawsuit filed by Judicial Watch back in September 2005, the Herndon Town Council voted 6-1 on Tuesday, January 9, in support of a “request for proposal” which seeks a new company to manage the Town’s day laborer site.

According to the proposal, unlike the current site operator, a nonprofit organization called Project Hope and Harmony, the new company will be required to “ensure that every worker using the agency’s services is legally eligible to work in the United States and shall grant the Town of Herndon permission to periodically monitor for compliance with this.”

Better late than never.

Judicial Watch has been pushing a commonsense proposal to screen day laborers for their legal status ever since the new town council took office last summer. How much taxpayer money has the Town of Herndon wasted (and is wasting) to defend the day laborer site in court while this simple solution has been available to them?

As Judicial Watch has argued from the beginning, Herndon’s taxpayer-funded day laborer site violates both state and federal law. The citizens of Herndon do not want their tax dollars used to subsidize this illegal activity. That’s why they voted out of office proponents of the day laborer site last summer and installed a new town council.

Council members took a step in the right direction; now let’s see if they follow through. Incidentally, our lawsuit against Herndon (and Fairfax County, Virginia for funding the site) is still active. We will continue to protect the rights of Herndon taxpayers in court until the situation is resolved to their satisfaction.

Go to our website to read about Judicial Watch’s Herndon lawsuit, and a similar lawsuit filed in Laguna Beach, California, www.judicialwatch.org


Another JW Victory in the Fight Against Illegal Immigration


Sticking with Herndon, Virginia and the subject of illegal immigration, it appears the Herndon Police Department will be taking advantage of a federal program which gives local law enforcement officers the opportunity to receive “cross-designation” training in illegal immigration enforcement techniques. Last week, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) approved the Herndon, Police Department to begin the program known as 287(g) training.

This never would have happened were it not for the work of Judicial Watch. You may recall, in July 2006, Judicial Watch uncovered documents from the Department of Homeland Security related to 287(g) training, proving that local governments have the authority to help enforce immigration law. By releasing these documents to the press, Judicial Watch pressured local officials who have tried to wash their hands of illegal immigration, claiming it is purely a federal problem. Someone in Herndon, however, was paying attention.

According to ICE, the cross-designation training allows these local and state officers the “necessary resources and latitude to pursue investigations relating to violent crimes, human smuggling, gang/organized crime activity, sexual-related offenses, narcotics smuggling and money laundering; and increased resources and support in more remote geographical locations.”

The training only takes 5 weeks and costs just $520 per officer. As of June 2006, 136 officers had received 287(g) training and have accounted for 820 immigration-related arrests including fraudulent documents, rape, drug possession, firearm possession, driving under the influence, and burglary. Clearly, the program works.


We’re pleased Herndon officials responded to Judicial Watch’s efforts and followed through on this critical training program. Without a doubt, the documents released by Judicial Watch in July compelled the Herndon Town Council to make the right decision. Other localities have followed suit, but the new liberal governor of Massachusetts, Deval Patrick, just rescinded the 287(g) agreement between ICE and his state police, which would have had state troopers help with immigration enforcement. (Patrick, by the way, is a notorious liberal going back to his days as a top official in the Clinton Justice Department.)