Results 1 to 4 of 4

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

  1. #1
    Senior Member Brian503a's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    California or ground zero of the invasion
    Posts
    16,029

    Day laborers told to stay out of lot in Gaithersburg

    http://washingtontimes.com/metro/200609 ... -4152r.htm

    Day laborers told to stay out of lot
    By Keyonna Summers
    THE WASHINGTON TIMES
    Published September 20, 2006

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Dozens of day laborers who have gathered for years in a Gaithersburg parking lot must find a new place to seek work beginning today because the lot's owners have asked police to shut down the site.

    The lot, owned by S&B Partnership, is at 117 North Frederick Ave. between a shopping complex and Grace United Methodist Church. Laborers had been allowed to loiter there daily until 9:30 a.m.

    "Residents said that the people who gathered in the lot were wandering around the neighborhood [and that] they had safety concerns, that people were urinating in their yards," said Paul Meehan, the lot's property manager. "We'd like to be good neighbors to the neighborhood, and we'd like to work as best as we can with the city."

    Gaithersburg and Montgomery County police said that they will warn, ticket and, as a last resort, arrest trespassers on the lot who are not customers of the mall or the church.

    Police said that they will not target immigrants and that they will not check the immigration status of those they arrest.

    Trespassing is a misdemeanor, with a penalty of up to 90 days in jail or a $500 fine.

    CASA of Maryland, an immigrant advocacy group, and religious leaders today plan to hold a 7 a.m. press conference to protest the new enforcement, which they call an action of hate and discrimination.

    Knowledgeable sources said that the 50 to 100 day laborers -- many of them Hispanic illegal aliens -- have gathered in the lot since the Spanish Catholic Center, a complex that offered employment services, moved in 2003.

    The Rev. David Rocha of Camino de Vida United Methodist Church said the laborers will avoid the lot and will continue to gather nearby on the church's front lawn, with the permission of church officials.

    "Most [day laborers] are within walking distance," Mr. Rocha said. "We don't want to be arrested, so we are going to move just some steps, so [police] are not going to have an excuse. If arrests come, it is not our intention. It is going to be their action."

    In the meantime, city officials are directing the laborers to two formal CASA-run day-laborer centers in Wheaton and Silver Spring, and to Labor Ready, an employment center in Gaithersburg.

    They also encouraged local faith groups to donate bus tokens to laborers.

    The lot's closing falls one day after the one-year anniversary of the Gaithersburg's City Council's first public meeting on opening a permanent center for the laborers.

    Since then, about 30 property owners have blocked the plan by refusing to lease space for a center, and residents have complained that two other potential sites for the center were too close to homes and schools.

    City Manager David Humpton yesterday said that he has found another site for a permanent center.

    "But the bad news is I haven't heard whether they're going to lease it to us yet," he said. "This is sort of the last viable spot we see unless someone comes forward to offer one. Then we would begin to work with the county to find something outside city limits."
    Support our FIGHT AGAINST illegal immigration & Amnesty by joining our E-mail Alerts at http://eepurl.com/cktGTn

  2. #2
    Super Moderator Newmexican's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Heart of Dixie
    Posts
    36,012
    Information on CASA de Maryland.
    http://www.casademaryland.org/
    Support our FIGHT AGAINST illegal immigration & Amnesty by joining our E-mail Alerts at https://eepurl.com/cktGTn

  3. #3
    Senior Member Brian503a's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    California or ground zero of the invasion
    Posts
    16,029
    http://www.wtopnews.com/index.php?nid=25&sid=918570

    Gaithersburg Police to Enforce Law at Day Labor Site
    Sep 20th - 4:35am

    GAITHERSBURG, Md. (AP) - Gaithersburg city police planned to enforce trespassing laws Wednesday morning at a shopping center where day laborers gather, a move that comes after efforts to find a permanent site for the workers fell through.

    Police hoped to disperse the roughly 100 people who gather at the shopping center parking lot each morning to wait for potential employers, said Cpl. Randy Wagner, a spokesman for the Gaithersburg police.

    Fliers were handed out to day laborers asking them to leave the property after the shopping center's owner asked police to enforce trespassing laws. Police said that enforcement would begin Wednesday with warnings, citations and possible arrests if necessary. Trespassing carries a potential punishment of 90 days in jail and a $500 fine.

    "I don't anticipate mass arrests," Wagner said.

    But immigrant advocates said they expected police to make arrests, and planned an early morning "march for peace" at the site. They planned to protest what they said was the failure of the city, under pressure from illegal immigrant foes such as the Minutemen and business groups, to find a permanent site for day laborers.

    "Any time there has been an offer for property, it has been nixed," said Kim Propeack of the National Capital Immigrant Coalition.

    Several communities in the Washington region have struggled to find permanent sites for day laborers, who are often undocumented immigrants hired on the spot for short jobs and paid in cash. They often gather in parking lots, angering many business owners who feel they are a nuisance and drive away customers.

    Permanent hiring centers have been established in Wheaton and Silver Spring. But voters in Herndon, Va., unseated the mayor and two town council members who supported a publicly funded day laborer center there.

    Gaithersburg has rejected nearly 30 attempts to find a permanent facility. As a result, workers have gathered in informal groups, usually along heavily traveled Route 355. A nearby church said day laborers can use its front lawn, but the city said that could create a traffic hazard when potential employers slow down on the road.

    In a statement at a city council meeting Monday, City Manager David Humpton urged day laborers to go to permanent sites in Wheaton and Silver Spring. He said talks were under way with another shopping center, but there was no agreement.

    Montgomery County Chief Administrative Officer Bruce Romer said in a letter Tuesday to Humpton that the county was "concerned" that Gaithersburg had made "little progress" in finding a day laborer site. The county has committed $125,000 to the project.

    "We need clarification as to whether the city is still committed to moving forward," Romer wrote.

    (Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
    Support our FIGHT AGAINST illegal immigration & Amnesty by joining our E-mail Alerts at http://eepurl.com/cktGTn

  4. #4
    Senior Member Brian503a's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    California or ground zero of the invasion
    Posts
    16,029
    http://www.gazette.net/stories/092006/g ... 1955.shtml

    Day labor site gets shut down
    City police to begin trespass enforcement today

    Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2006

    by Sebastian Montes

    Staff Writer


    Police this morning planned to begin enforcing trespassing laws at a Gaithersburg parking lot where day laborers have gathered to find work for three years.

    Police said they expected that in most cases workers would be dispersed, not arrested.

    ‘‘Obviously, we hope that we don’t have to make arrests,” said Chief Mary Ann Viverette. ‘‘There are factors that we consider based on the totality of the circumstances ... so we’ll just have to wait and see who’s trying to find work and who’s trying to pick them up.”

    The enforcement comes after Washington-based S&B Partnership, which owns the parking lot and plaza at 117 N. Frederick Ave., asked for the city’s assistance.

    Paul Meehan, property manager for S&B, said the company decided earlier this month to shutdown the informal employment center on its property after several residents complained of the lot’s disruption to their neighborhood.

    It is unclear what the dozens of men, mostly Latino immigrants, who routinely gather at the spot each morning will do now.

    The Rev. Mark Derby, head pastor of Grace United Methodist Church which abuts the parking lot, told the day laborers gathered Tuesday morning that they could wait on the church’s grounds and use its restrooms.

    ‘‘I want you to be clear. You’re welcome here,” he said.

    But with police planning to also keep contractors from stopping on nearby Walker Avenue and Route 355, there appears to be no safe and convenient place for a hire to take place.

    Gaithersburg Mayor Sidney A. Katz visited the parking lot at 6:45 Tuesday morning to reinforce with the men gathered that beginning today, they would not be allowed to use the site.

    ‘‘We are still continuing to pursue a location for a day laborer center, but still do not have a definitive answer from any landlord or property owner,” Katz said, reading from a report that City Manager David B. Humpton gave the City Council Monday night.

    In an interview, he said closing the lot doesn’t solve the question of how to address the day laborer issue.

    ‘‘What it does do is that first off, because they can only stand in front of the church, the employers are not going to be able to hire them. People are here to work and consequently, that’s not going to work for anybody.”

    After a meeting yesterday afternoon with county police and the State’s Attorney’s Office, Viverette said her department is ready to enforce the law equally for workers and employers.

    ‘‘Obviously, nobody wants there to be any arrests, any citations,” said John McLane, spokesman for the State’s Attorney’s Office. ‘‘We’re trying not to overreact. ... We want to make sure that whatever happens [Wednesday] happens as smoothly and efficiently as possible with everybody’s rights being respected.”

    This week’s developments are the latest in a long struggle to establish a government-sanctioned day laborer center in the upcounty.

    Two years ago, city and county officials began discussing the need and potential locations for a center, with the city rejecting a site the county had acquired near Grace Church.

    A year ago, the city took the lead on the issue but has failed to identify a suitable location after pursuing nearly 30 sites.

    Many city residents who work and live near the Route 355 lot have become frustrated with the lack of resolution.

    In anticipation of the new police enforcement, Humpton on Monday called on the faith community to come forward and provide bus fare to day laborers needing transportation to county’s employment centers in Wheaton and Silver Spring.

    ‘‘It seems like it’s going backwards,” observed Derby, who took the helm at Grace Church in July.

    Though frustrated by the convoluted politics and the difficulty of ‘‘getting up to speed” on the issue, Derby said he remains committed to finding a permanent solution.

    ‘‘I personally will do anything I can to build a coalition of community leaders or religious leaders to help facilitate the oversight of a day labor center, if the city would identify a property,” he said.

    County officials are also wondering about the city’s commitment.

    Chief Administrative Officer Bruce Romer sent a letter to city officials Tuesday afternoon. ‘‘We need clarification as to whether the City is still committed to moving forward expeditiously,” he wrote. ‘‘I am requesting that the City re-double its efforts to identify a site for an employment center and signal to the County that you are still committed to finding a resolution to this matter in a timely manner.”
    Support our FIGHT AGAINST illegal immigration & Amnesty by joining our E-mail Alerts at http://eepurl.com/cktGTn

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •