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Join Date 07/2004

Herndon Closes Day-Labor Center

Illegals back to begging for work at 7-Eleven

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The city of Herndon, Virginia, has a problem that they thought they'd solved.

Two years ago, the residents of this northern Virginia town complained about the influx of day laborers on their streetcorners and in their yards. The complaints ranged from loitering to public defecation and urination in people's yards. These laborers, mostly poor illegal immigrants, were especially thick around a particular 7-Eleven parking lot, where they would wait for employers to solicit them for work. (The local economy has seen a boom of construction due to the town's proximity to Dulles International Airport and Washington DC. Fairfax County is one of the most populous and prosperous regions of the country.)

So the mayor and city council, in response, opened a day-labor center which would serve two purposes: 1) get these people off the street; and 2) allow the city to check immigration status of their hordes of day laborers. The day labor center was to verify the legal right to work of each of its clients, then hook them up with employers. This was apparently working out very well, forcing both the laborers and the employers to comply with legal requirements regarding employment.

However, a lawsuit inevitably followed. The suit was brought against the City of Herndon for breaching the rights of the illegal immigrants to work in the city of Herndon.

From the Washington Post:
At issue was an ordinance the council approved in 2005 as a legal companion to the day-laborer center, barring workers and motorists from striking deals for employment on the streets. The courts have generally required that communities barring public solicitation for work -- a form of speech -- must provide an alternative venue for that speech, such as a hiring site.

The town's plan began to collapse last year when a Reston man, Stephen A. Thomas, ticketed for hiring a laborer in the parking lot of the Elden Street 7-Eleven, challenged the law on First Amendment grounds.

A district court found in favor of the town, but Fairfax Circuit Court Judge Leslie Alden ruled for Thomas on Aug. 29. Alden said the anti-solicitation ordinance fell short not only on First Amendment grounds but also under the equal protection requirements of the 14th Amendment. She said the Herndon center was not sufficient to make up for the ban on job solicitation because the town intended to bar illegal immigrants from the site. Alden said the Supreme Court has ruled that the equal protection provision applies to noncitizens as well.

Alden's ruling left DeBenedittis and the Town Council in a dilemma. An appeal could take months, even years. With no one available to operate the center according to its wishes, the town would have to take over the facility. But to preserve the anti-solicitation ordinance, the town would have to open the center to those who might be in the country illegally -- violating a core campaign promise.

So the city has decided to take down the day labor center rather than continue to fight the court battle. In a radio interview this morning, DeBenedittis said the city believes that the exorbitant legal fees would outweigh the results of keeping the day labor center open. The town will seek to enforce existing zoning ordinances, since there is no zoning for an employment center within city limits.

So the issue I have with this ruling and its consequences is as follows: this is ridiculous! This ruling shows that no local jurisdiction has the legal ability to enforce immigration. If any homeowner gets uppity about Salvadoran nationals defecating on their property, they must allow it because to do otherwise would abrogate the illegal's Constitutional rights to free speech. And guaranteed that the Southland Corporation, owner of the 7-Eleven chain, will have nothing done about it due to the possibility of negative publicity. Also can't stop solicitation on street corners or 7-Eleven parking lots, since it's the illegal's right to ask for work even though he has no legal right to such work inside the United States.

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So what is the city of Herndon to do?

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So what is the city of Herndon to do?

I guess the city should only provide a place to get day laborers off the street or out of the parking lot and forget about the enforcing citizenship issues. I'm sure if they want to call ICE in to the day laborer pick up sites, they are welcome to do it. As a matter of fact, I am sure that ICE knows where to find all of the illegal immigrants who are trying to find work. So the question is why aren't THEY doing their job. There have been multiple rulings that have said immigration is a FEDERAL responsibility ex. Hazelton, PA.

If any homeowner gets uppity about Salvadoran nationals defecating on their property, they must allow it because to do otherwise would abrogate the illegal's Constitutional rights to free speech.

That is BS. A homeowner has every right to not allow trespassing for any purpose on their property and can call the police for enforcement. This ruling has nothing to do with that.

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That is BS. A homeowner has every right to not allow trespassing for any purpose on their property and can call the police for enforcement. This ruling has nothing to do with that.

That is not BS... it's Mexican S!

How crowded will Herndon's jails become if they actually start enforcing the zoning and traffic ordinances as promised? The town's economy will suffer tremendously.

There have been multiple rulings that have said immigration is a FEDERAL responsibility ex. Hazelton, PA.

I agree totally... and the ball has been dropped big time. Federal immigration enforcement has been ignored, forcing the states, citites, and counties to try and do something. But they're blocked at every turn by, as you say, those "multiple rulings".

What's a town to do?

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I mean, if soliciting work on the street is a protected form of speech, why do prostitutes get arrested before committing the act?

Because no hookers have taken it to court under those pretenses.
Newspaper headlines should now read, "Prostitutes Now Legal in Herndon" because all speech reagrding solicitation of illegal activities is protected. Not prostitution as an act, but "Hey baby! Looking for a good time?!" is part of all people's Consitutional rights.

Twenty minutes later (a pooping pedro is not exactly an emergency, is it?) the cops come out, pedro is nowhere to be found, and the only evidence is a pile of steaming poo. How they gonna nail someone for that?

CSI: Herndon will be on that case, I guarantee it.

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we're hooking up with meg (shadesofgrey) for lunch afterwards at the Hawk N Dove, probably around 1:30 or so, would you like to join us? The more the merrier?

That sounds so great -- I'd love to meet you guys. Quite likely. I will see if my work schedule can take me into the District that day for lunch.

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INteresting. If I read this right, then Herndon cannot restrict where you solicit work. SO how would they crack down on hookers? Answer - their activity is illegal.

Counter - but then so are illegals seeking work. Herndon should not have caved so easily.

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Herndon should not have caved so easily.

According to the interview with the mayor of Herndon, they're hoping a legal firm will pick up the appeal for a low, low price. But until then they just can't afford further defense of the day labor center. Which is a darn shame for the people of Herndon.

It's funny that this issue came up today, as last Monday we were in this area house hunting.

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I want to know who the judge is that decided that anyone had standing to represent people that are not here legally to begin with. The case shouldn't have made it past that point. If you are not here legally, then you do not -- from my perspective -- have the right to complain about anything, period.

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Off Topic - If you do buy there, I thin kyou and your neighbors should demand an accounting of where all the money is going. I bet there is more than enough that is going for "pet projects" to pay the bill. It is a rare city that does not waste thousands a year. Out of millions, that may not be a lot, but then it is enough to fight this thing.

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anyone had standing to represent people that are not here legally to begin with.

Technically, the suit was brought by the guy who hired the illegal, not the illegal. But point well made. Such unwelcome advocates think they're standing up for the voiceless and powerless! When really they're making life worse for those who have to live in a town overrun by illegal immigrants and powerless to curb the trend.

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If your feet are on American soil, those rights cannot be denied.

Slightly off-topic alert
In fact, neither party in a lawsuit have to be American. In the past couple of decades foreigners have been able to sue other foreigners for war crimes, etc., in US federal court. Under the Princeton Principles on Universal Jurisdiction, victims of genocide or other oppression would be able to sue in federal court.

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