Thread: Minutemen add the day laborer debate

Minutemen add the day laborer debate


By DANIEL GILBERT
dgilbert@potomacnews.com
Thursday, November 10, 2005


What do you think?

The Minutemen, a national organization that seeks to limit illegal immigration into the United States, has set up shop in Herndon and is adding fuel to the debate on how to deal with the day laborers who seek work at informal sites throughout Northern Virginia.

Between 40 and 50 laborers wait daily outside the 7-Eleven on Elden Street, hemmed in by a blue line on the pavement that separates them from the rest of the parking lot which is patrolled by a security guard.

The morale among the laborers is not high.

The Minutemen began operations by the convenience story last week, recording the names of companies, license plate numbers and tax stickers on windshields to see if the company has a business license.

"The employers are scared. They don't want to come by now," said Alex Carvajal, a native of Honduras. "[The Minutemen] come early, 6, 7 a.m. They drive by in cars taking photos, fast, and then they're gone."

The focus of the Minutemen is to pressure employers who hire day laborers by holding them accountable to income tax laws. When the Minutemen find a violation, they report it to the Internal Revenue Service.

According to George Taplin, a retired naval officer who heads the Herndon chapter, the presence of illegal immigrants would not be possible if it were not for the American companies who hire them.

"We need to go after the people who are providing the jobs," Taplin said, detailing a strategy to dry up the demand for immigrant labor.

The Minutemen's approach has aroused the ire of some community groups who view it as an attempt to intimidate day laborers and employers.

"We don't believe intimidation is an appropriate action," said Bill Threlkeld, director of Hope and Harmony, a nonprofit in Herndon.

Threlkeld and his organization noted abuses that day laborers often experience: poor treatment, discrimination and non-payment for their work. To prevent such abuses -- and to mitigate the negative effect loitering day laborers might have on local businesses -- Hope and Harmony proposed a center for laborers to meet with employers. The proposal was approved by the Herndon Town Council by a 5-2 margin Aug. 17. The center would receive $175,000 from Fairfax County for its first year in operation.

While plans for building the center progress, some are determined to halt its progress.

Taplin -- who lives "two football fields" away from the proposed center -- is a plaintiff in a lawsuit to prevent its construction.

"By creating the center, Hispanic advocacy groups are effectively perpetuating the system of low wages and poor living conditions day laborers live with," Taplin said.

It is the issue of using tax dollars to support day laborers that has provoked the fiercest debate.

"I have a concern with using public funds -- taxpayer money -- towards facilitating something that would not be legal," said Danny Vargas, president and founder of VARCom Solutions, a Herndon-based business. Vargas, whose parents are from Puerto Rico, views immigration policy as the responsibility of the federal government that alone can craft far-reaching reforms. "Until you tackle the core of the issue, all you are doing is putting a Band-Aid on a gushing wound," he said.

But others see an inescapably local side of the day laborer predicament.

"How we deal with these people once they're here is a local issue," said Raul Fernández, CEO of ObjectVideo in Herndon. Fernández -- a first-generation American -- wrote a $35,000 check for the creation of the new center.

At a 7-Eleven in Woodbridge, some 20 miles south of Herndon, day laborers have gotten wind of the Minutemen's activities. But they are more concerned about another threat to their existence: the approaching winter.

"We don't even have good coats," said Denis RodrÃÂ*guez, 20, from Honduras. "Put your hand in my pocket," he said, revealing a gaping hole.

The cold, however, is a distraction next to the economic reality of the winter, where less daylight translates into fewer opportunities to work.

"We get depressed in December, because there is no work," said Ricky Cruz, a native of El Salvador. Each worker has the same story. The Minutemen are not helping them.

Teresita Jacintos, a member of Workers of Woodbridge, is busy dispensing food and clothing to help the laborers survive the winter. She is outraged by the Minutemen's activities.

"Who do you think is going to bear the brunt of the Minutemen's efforts?" she asked. "The laborers, not the employers."

George Taplin would agree. In fact, nothing rankles him more than Hispanic advocacy groups appealing to the public's sense of humanity.

"Just because they speak Spanish and try to help their families, it is not OK to break the law," he said. "The bottom line is, illegals shouldn't be in the county to begin with."




Reader's Reaction
What do you think?. Click the link to post your comment.

Posted on 11/10 at 10:51 AM
If the supply of labor was scarce in the USA, wages would be going UP. That has not happened for 29 years. WHO are we kidding? The poor illegals go from poverty to a form of wage slavery and are abused by many 'employers'. Citizens won't put up with that and THAT is the real issue. And citizens won't live 20 to a room. We Either pay a prevailing wage to illegals OR send them home.
pinkiris

Posted on 11/10 at 10:50 AM
If the law is wrong, change the law. While I "feel" for anyone who struggles to make a better place for their family and know that all immigrants are not illegal aliens, I also know that all illegal aliens are law breakers. For every illegal alien that we now allow into our country, there is another legal, pending immigrant who will be barred entry. Does anyone really want to reward the criminal activity while punishing law-abiding people?
Robert Lang Triangle VA

Posted on 11/10 at 10:50 AM
If they are breaking the law that is wrong and it should not be allowed. Everyone tries to stop the wrong doings in the world, why not this. I agree that if they are illegals they shouldn't be in the country to begin with. I say way to go Minutemen!
Concerned

Posted on 11/10 at 10:50 AM
I think this is a great thing what the minutemen are doing. The day laborers do not pay taxes, yet are government is supporting them? They are in this country illegally, they should not be able to work, or even be here. I am sick of immigrants pleading for help from the system. I do not care what language you speak or how you look, and immigrant is an immigrant and should not be in the United States living off of our tax payers money.
my2boys

Posted on 11/10 at 10:50 AM
The Minuteman should spent more time trying to chase criminals, instead of inocent people that all they want is a chance to make some money to feed their families, they are not going to be fair to these people and abuse is going to ocurred. They should stay out of this.
princesa

Posted on 11/10 at 10:50 AM
It's about time someone did somthing about this. Go back to where you came from. Take your gangs, your drugs and your language that we can't speak out of here. We don't want you here. I feel like I no longer live in Manassas, but Little El Salvador. It's up to the public to take things into their own hands if our government will not do a thing. It's sad to see how many people move away because of all the illegal aliens here. Get out!!
get out

Posted on 11/10 at 10:50 AM
Either they are here legally paying taxes or they should stay in their Country.They are flooding the schools, having multiple babies and reporting that they do not know who the father is and then the children become eligible for all the benefits (medical, food stamps, etc.) and the legal citizens get to foot the bill. Legal people, old people can not get the benefits that these illegal people get. Lots of them come and get social security and they have never worked a day in this Country.
ccaniford1@aol.com

Posted on 11/10 at 10:50 AM
My issue is that I sometimes hire help at the 7-11. I don't ask if they are legal or not...I need labor help..period. I find it impossable to find any other group of people willing to work hard for there money. I don't have a business and I am not profiting from there work. I use them to help paint the house or split wood etc. Tom
Tom

http://www.potomacnews.com/servlet/Sate ... 0587&path=

Denis RodrÃÂ*guez mentioned that they don't even have good coats. I know of a Christian ministry not far from there that has provides clothing for the needy. I'll check in to whether they'd be interested in going to the workers. If not, I'll ask H&H to notify the workers of the ministry.