Protesters want day laborers out of NE plaza
Josiah Ryan

Demonstrators who opposed a day-laborer center in the District gathered yesterday outside a Northeast shopping plaza to ask authorities to disperse the mostly Hispanic day laborers who continue to gather there to look for work.

About two dozen protesters affiliated with the groups DefendDC and Help Save Maryland assembled outside the Home Depot on Rhode Island Avenue in Northeast. They were met by about 15 counterdemonstrators who showed up to support the workers.

Members of the protest group held signs and complained of crimes regularly committed by laborers, as many as 200 of whom congregate daily at the site to link up with contractors for jobs. Residents say some of the workers loiter, drink alcohol and urinate in public.

The protesters also complained that day-laborer sites draw illegal aliens.


William Buchanan, a member of DefendDC, blamed Mayor Adrian M. Fenty for the problem in the District, where police are prohibited from inquiring about immigration status.

“The police cannot do anything here because he is building a haven for illegal immigrants. He should reverse that policy,â€