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Minutemen target employers in Herndon
Group has day laborers concerned as it monitors N.Va. illegal immigration

BY DANIEL GILBERT
MEDIA GENERAL NEWS SERVICE Nov 12, 2005


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 handle 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 separating them from the rest of the parking lot, which is patrolled by a security guard.

The laborers' morale is not high.

The Minutemen began operations by the convenience store 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 Minutemen 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 without 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.

Some community groups view the Minutemen's approach as an attempt to intimidate day laborers and employers.

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

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

While plans for building the center continue, 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.

Using tax dollars to support day laborers 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 federal government's responsibility. "Until you tackle the core of the issue, all you are doing is putting a Band-Aid on a gushing wound."

But others see a local side of the day-laborer predicament.

"How we deal with these people once they're here is a local issue," said Raul Fernandez, chief executive officer of ObjectVideo in Herndon. Fernandez 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 compared to the economic reality of 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.

Teresita Jacintos, a member of Workers' Committee 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."