Thread: VA: Day Labor Center Woes

Loudoun Awaits Fate of Herndon Center
County Might Open Facility if Town Bans Illegal Immigrants From Seeking Work
By Sandhya Somashekhar
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, August 4, 2007; B05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... tml?sub=AR

Lis Conde and Carlos Canales rally in support of the day-laborer center in Herndon. Town officials could decide this month to close or alter the facility.

Loudoun County might open a job center for day laborers if a controversial one in nearby Herndon bans illegal immigrants, officials said yesterday.

Herndon's day-laborer center, one of a handful in the Washington area, is across the Loudoun line. Loudoun officials say they fear that if the Herndon Town Council decides this month to keep the center open but check workers' immigration status, dozens of illegal workers could flood across the border and gather on public streets to look for work.

Loudoun doesn't want to attract the workers rejected by the Herndon center; rather, two Loudoun officials considering the proposal for a job center say it would be a way to protect the county from legal challenges to its efforts to crack down on undocumented immigrants.

Supervisors Scott K. York (I) and Stephen J. Snow (R-Dulles) said they want the county board to approve anti-solicitation laws that would ban illegal workers from gathering in public areas in Loudoun. But because such laws have been challenged in court, an official day-laborer center in Loudoun could give workers an alternative place to gather, which could protect the county from such challenges, they said.

"If we're going to go forward and solve what we believe will be a problem created by Herndon, to solve that problem we would have to pass an ordinance," York said. "To have the ordinance stand up in court, we'd have to have a site."

York and Snow said they are not advocating a center but think it could be a tool in their efforts to make Loudoun inhospitable to illegal immigrants. Last month, Loudoun joined Prince William County in passing a resolution promising to cut off public services where possible and increase cooperation between law enforcement and federal immigration authorities.

The two supervisors said they would only support a Loudoun center if the Herndon council votes Aug. 14 to change or close its center, if the site does not require taxpayer money and if it is open only to legal residents.

The Herndon Official Workers Center has been controversial since it opened in 2005. Reston Interfaith, a group of religious institutions that operates the center, does not check the legal status of people who go there to connect with employers needing short-term labor.

About 120 workers gather each morning to find work at the center. Although no one is sure how many are illegal, a 2003 Fairfax County survey found that about 85 percent of day laborers there were undocumented.

Herndon has been searching for months for an operator that would be willing to make sure the clients are legal, which Reston Interfaith says is not part of its mission. The town is in talks with a possible operator, Vice Mayor Dennis D. Husch said.

Some Loudoun officials were stunned yesterday to learn that some of their colleagues would consider such a controversial type of facility.

"I'm not thrilled with the idea, and I think the best way to deal with this problem would be to crack down on the businesses that are hiring these people in the first place," Supervisor Mick Staton Jr. (R-Sugarland Run) said.

Some immigrant advocates said the idea of creating a day-laborer site to crack down on illegal immigrants seems underhanded.

"If the county wants to be an immigration officer, just come out and say it. Just be clear," said Laura Valle, executive director of La Voz of Loudoun, a Hispanic advocacy group. "Why do they have to set up a day-labor site as an excuse to do that?"

Last night, about 200 activists and immigrants gathered at Alabama Drive Park in Herndon in support of the town's day-laborer site. A march and vigil were held in conjunction with a national conference of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network this weekend in Silver Spring.

A suggestion:

Print notices in Spanish (you can use Alta Vista Babelfish to translate) that inform these people that Selective Service Registration is required---EVEN FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS-- for males born after 1960 and who were first in this country before their 26th birthday. This would include an awful lot of them, especially the younger guys. Inform them that the penalties for not having done this are severe: possible five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Hand notices out to those you think may fall in this category.

You can get some pertinent information at the Selective Service website. Click on: Registration info, and then click on: "Who Must Register." or use this link:
http://www.sss.gov/FSwho.htm

I am planning to do this. I also think taking their pictures and getting names if possible and building a file of individuals would be helpful. They (and we, also) need to realize that failing to register with the Selective Service System is a serious crime. Some immigrants with special visas are exempted; illegal aliens are NOT. (See the law) To register thay need to have valid social security numbers---so they're in kind of a double bind.

I do have some experience with selective service law. But I think this could be a very effective, dissuasive tactic and am dismayed it has not been discussed more on this forum. I do plan to write to Selective Service to ask what they can do to enforce this law and if they can cooperate with other agencies.

Selective Service Registration is required---EVEN FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS-- for males born after 1960 and who were first in this country before their 26th birthday

...I never knew this also applied to ILLEGAL ALIENS. You know, I feel you're onto a tatic to use. I would like to know what W. and the ALIPAC administrators think about putting together a flyer in both Spanish and English ala the New Haven flyer that addresses this issue. We can hand these out at day laborer sites, rallies, and post in many places. What say you ALIPAC?

Good angle....love it....we must try everything....Thank-you

Selective Service Registration is required---EVEN FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS-- for males born after 1960 and who were first in this country before their 26th birthday. This would include an awful lot of them, especially the younger guys. Inform them that the penalties for not having done this are severe: possible five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Hand notices out to those you think may fall in this category.

This sounds good. Who is the enforcement agency?

Duplicate post,
Please see
http://www.alipac.us./modules.php?name= ... c&p=437226