Thread: Va: Residents concerned about day laborers

08/01/2007
Residents concerned about day laborers
By: Layla Wilder

Representatives from five Centreville communities met with Sully District Supervisor Michael Frey and county staff July 26 to discuss their concerns about day laborers at the Centreville Regional Library.
A group of about 30 Hispanic men have been hanging out daily in front of, or near, the library for months, drawing complaints about catcalls, loitering, and an unsightly lawn.


Vehicles stopping to pick up the men in the mornings and drop them off in the evenings are creating a traffic hazard, residents of the area say.

Members of five communities near the library requested the meeting to discuss ways to exclude the day laborers from the area.

Frey, and Lt. John Piper, assistant commander at the Sully District Police Station, explained that, unless the men do something illegal, they cannot be ordered to leave the library grounds since it is public property.

Also, police officers do not have the authority to question people who are just standing around as to their immigration status, Piper said.

"We walk the fine line of upholding people's rights and making neighborhoods safe," Piper said.

Day laborers have reportedly been loitering in front of the library on St. Germain Drive and across the street at the Centrewood Plaza shopping center.

Bill Lieedtke, a nearby resident, said at the meeting that some women in his community will not walk to the library alone anymore. He also said parents are not letting their children frequent the library alone.

Cassie Triplet, senior property manager of the Centrewood Plaza shopping center, said it has been difficult for her to deal with complaints about the Hispanic men frequenting the center. Security guards do not keep them away, she said, and some of them are customers.

It's "very challenging to say who is loitering and who is not," Triplet said.

According to Frey, complaints about the situation have been increasing over the past two years.

Brian Worthy, a Fairfax County spokesman, said the county's health department has received reports about trash and public urination at the library.

Lieedtke suggested that Sully District construct a day laborer center as was done by the town of Herndon, but Frey said he does not think the day laborer problem in Centreville is big enough to consider a center yet.

"No one in Sully would support a zoning case for a day laborer site anyway," Frey said after the meeting.

Frey said the county's Facilities Management Department is working to improve the lawn at the library.

He also promised to work with county staff to educate Centreville's Hispanic community about the negative perception others have of them.

David Ellis, neighborhood services coordinator for the county's Department of Systems Management for Human Services, said at the meeting that education goes a long way toward improving problems related to day laborers.

"They just don't know how the public perceives them," Ellis said.

Piper said he will work with residents and shop owners to stop any illegal behavior and the traffic stops around the library.

Deputy County Executive Rob Stalzer, who is leading the county's newly created zoning strike force, was at the meeting to explain how the county hopes to address problems related to immigration by cracking down on overcrowded houses.

Out of the approximately 160 complaints the strike team has received to date, about 10 originated in Sully, according to Stalzer.

Stalzer said that, if overcrowding is not addressed now in Sully, problems there will worsen.

"This is a problem that has to be addressed from all angles," Piper said.

http://www.timescommunity.com/site/tab5 ... 1686&rfi=6

"We walk the fine line of upholding people's rights and making neighborhoods safe," Piper said.
Who's rights?Certainly not the poor moms and their kids who have to see public urination and hearing catcalls and seeing the library their tax dollars paid for get trashed.And obviously the families don't feel safe if they can't go here alone anymore.Way to look out for your citizenry Lt. Piper!!!!!

Gee, whos tax dollars are used to keep repairing the lawn and landscaping?

Another nice,formerly safe neighborhood bites the dust.Who's next?

Sorry to sound so bitter but I know this area and it was just a little bedroom community,a really nice,quiet place.Also if their walking to this library they're living close by as well.Let the overcrowding begin.

Centreville is just outside of Prince William County.

Not to mention the mess they are making in front of the Regional Library, down the street.

Frey is a "piece of work," just like Dubois in Herndon.

What I have found to be most effective is circumventing the "political" chain altogether, and start sending emails to the headquarters of the stores once patronized and let them know how you feel.

Everyone is so worried about being politically correct that they can't even see what is going on under their noses. The Kohls in Herndon finally took action (and is actually staying on top of things) since patrons said they would not shop in a center where they would be subjected to cat calls and day laborers storming their vehicles when they pulled into the parking lot.

It wasn't until they started to clamp down that they realized the illegals were camping out in the parking garage. I'm being totally honest when I say, you could smell it before you could see it.

I hope the people of Centerville, who patronized Centrewood Center (it used to be a great little center), write to the store headquarters and complain.

It's a dirty shame. I am also very familiar with the area. I used to have friends who lived in Centerville, and I also used to work in Sterling and would frequently travel down Rt. 50 to and from work or for lunch. Sometimes I would stop at stores after work.

Prior to the invasion, it was a nice area and I never felt the least bit concerned about safety. If we don't stop this madness, our entire country will be destroyed.

Thanks for the advise JuneS.
I worry that it is just a matter of time before someone is hurt by the "day laborers" or the "day laborers" are hurt by flocking around cars.Then sues the cars driver/owner and possibly the county for not making a safe place for them to congregate.I know it sounds kind of rediculous but, I've heard of lamer lawsuits.
Also the citizens that hire these illegals to do work at their homes-how crazy is that!You wouldn't pick up a hitchhiker and bring them home. I am not trying to cast aspersions on anyone but if you or your family is harmed in any way by one of these illegal workers what recourse would you have or justice could you ever possibly expect to get.How would you find out their address?They can easily get new documents/names and easily disappear.I can't figure out why these people hire them and give them that kind of access to their homes/loved ones.

The Herndon Day Labor Center (aka $175K per year (tax funded) Elden Street Clean Up Project) draws up to 150 day laborers from Herndon and Loudoun County, with an averge hire rate of 15%.

Project Hope and Harmony (PH&H) touts a minimum $10/hour labor rate, which gives County Officials a warm and fuzzy feeling ... interpreted by the County as Success and justification to continue dropping tax dollars into a bottomless pit.

What PH&H doesn't know, or doesn't want to know, is once the laborers leave the center with homeowners an/or contractors, the hourly rate is often renegotiated.

To protect the contractors, PH&H offers a "call in reservation." Contractors can call in to reserve a laborer, with a pick up location other than the Center. Labor rates are agreed to through the Center, but almost always renegotiated at the pick up location. When specific laborers are requested, the lower rate is usually pre-arranged between the laborer and contractor.

Renegotiating the hourly rate is a violation of the Center's rules. If Laborers agree to a lower rate, they will be banned from the Center; therefore, this is just an extension of the "don't ask/don't tell" policy, common among day laborers.

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The purpose of the day labor center was to clear Elden Street of day laborers rushing cars on the streets and in parking lots. Apparently the laborers don't feel the minimum $10/hour rate and 15% hire rate is as much a success as the County and PH&H think, and have moved back to the streets.

They know this is prohibited by the anti-solicitation law. To cover themselves, they now hang out at Bus Stops, in small groups of 4 to 6. Job Connections are made at the bus stops where they arrange a pick up at another location. To date, several homeowners and contractors have been fined for "solicitation," but it doesn't seem to stop them.

Also, police officers do not have the authority to question people who are just standing around as to their immigration status, Piper said.

"We walk the fine line of upholding people's rights and making neighborhoods safe," Piper said.

I disagree. 8 USC Section 1324 (c)

(c) Authority to arrest

No officer or person shall have authority to make any arrests for

a violation of any provision of this section except officers and

employees of the Service designated by the Attorney General, either

individually or as a member of a class, and all other officers

whose duty it is to enforce criminal laws.[/b][/i]