Posted on 08/17/2005 5:10:17 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
HERNDON -- They came early and stayed late last night, waiting for a chance to share their feelings with the Herndon Town Council on a proposal that has deeply divided this town of 22,000 near Dulles International Airport.
Whether the town should spend taxpayer dollars to set up a hiring hall for day laborers, many of them illegal immigrants, drew an overflow crowd to Town Hall. Stoked by talk-radio hosts, more than 120 people signed up to speak at a public hearing, many of then arriving hours before the meeting was to begin.
By late last night, the public-comment period was continuing, and the council had not voted. The hearing was expected to be continued tonight.
Though Mayor Michael L. O'Reilly said "we are looking for light, not heat," emotions ran high among supporters and detractors of the plan. Some argued with one another has they waited in line. Others waved signs or played patriotic music.
...Diane Bonieskie, whose house in Sterling is adjacent to the proposed site, said she welcomes legal immigrants who are looking to build a better life. But illegal immigrants are unwelcome, she added.
"You have to take a stand somewhere, and this is it," she said.
Contact Paul Bradley at (703) 548-8758 or pbradley@timesdispatch.com
(Excerpt) Read more at timesdispatch.com ...
As people waited to take their seats in the cramped council chambers, zoning officials covered the often-dry details of the proposal from a local social service agency to set up an organized gathering spot for day laborers that would replace the current unofficial site.
But outside the chambers, the battle lines were evident between advocates and opponents of a publicly funded site. Supporters stood on one side of the street, carrying signs that read "Ignorance Breeds Fear," referring to anti-immigrant sentiment. A crowd gathered on the other side wearing, on their shirts, white paper stars with a slash through the phrase "Day Labor Site." One sign stated: "Start a Revolution and Hire an American."
Inside, the speakers' concerns ranged from human rights to property rights and whether the mission of local government should include enforcement of what many called the failure of federal authorities to police the country's borders............... ***
"Inside, the speakers' concerns ranged from human rights to property rights and whether the mission of local government should include enforcement of what many called the failure of federal authorities to police the country's borders............... ***"
This could get interesting. Thanks for the link. I'll stay tuned...
AP:
Herndon Council Will Vote on Day Labor Site Wednesday
Updated: Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2005 - 7:06 AM
HERNDON, Va. - The Herndon Town Council is expected to vote Wednesday night on whether to approve a day labor site.
The vote was originally scheduled to take place Tuesday night but so many people signed up to speak out about it that it had to be pushed to Wednesday.
At issue is whether the town should spend $170,000 to build a center for the day laborers to wait for work.
Currently, about 150 laborers gather daily outside a downtown Herndon convenience store.
Supporters of the site say it would provide a safe gathering place for people who are willing to do undesirable jobs for low pay. Opponents say most of the day laborers are in the U.S. illegally and tax dollars shouldn't be used to build such a facility.
Yes!
On any given day, between 20 to 30 workers will find jobs at the Shirlington site, not quite half of those who show up. Tobar said employers are encouraged to pay a fair wage, from $10 to $15 an hour depending on the work, maybe more for job requiring especially heavy labor.
Day laborers register at the site and are entered into a lottery system that gives all laborers an equal chance to be hired for unskilled work. Those with specific skills, like carpentry, can be matched up with employers seeking skilled labor.
Day laborers are not asked about their immigration status; Tobar acknowledged that most are not legal, but he said many are working through the immigration bureaucracy to obtain legal status, a process that can take years.
http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0805/252343.html
"These guys work twice as hard. I get a lot more work for my money," Schilling said. "White guys, they just have too many expectations. My biggest problem with these guys is they'll work so hard that they'll do more than I ask them to do."
OUTFRIGGINGRAGIOUS!
***..............The opportunity to get people like the Avalos family into the market begins with the IRS, which is happy to collect peoples' taxes, regardless of their immigration status.
Nearly a decade ago, the IRS began giving out Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers so people without Social Security numbers could pay taxes. Since then, more than 8 million applicants have received numbers, and about 2 million are used on tax returns.
The IRS knows illegal immigrants are using the numbers to get mortgages.
"We don't have control over whatever the taxpayers do with the numbers other than filing a tax return," spokeswoman Irma Trevino said.
In addition to the ID numbers, immigrants must show that they have been in the country, worked and paid taxes for at least two years in order to get mortgages. Because many do not have credit scores, they must prove their good credit through documents such as utility and cell phone bills, rent receipts, bank statements and paychecks. The interest rates and loan costs are in line with those of buyers who have Social Security numbers.***
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1464176/posts
I can't agree about race/ethnicity here, but..
A local moving company wanted to charge me $800 to the contents of my apartment into a storage building about 5 miles from my house.
Guess how much this will cost me if I hire some illegals? About $225.
Kinda tempting isn't it?
There's so much I see while searching. It is so complicated (on legal sites) and woven into the government structure.
Just one more thing about the tax number illegals use:
***To file for an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), the applicant must go in person to an office of the Internal Revenue Service and complete a Form W-7 (available at the offices listed below). The applicant must present his/her passport as well as some other form of identification (for example, National Identity card or driver's license). ***
A lot of people do it.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1465008/posts
I found this post quite interesting. Here lies the problem with the Mexican people.
Off to work, but I'll still be lurking!
I understand the immediate cost benefits to using illegal labor but the long-term economic impact is scary.
And meanwhile, the jackasses on that town's council who cannot seem to see even five feet in front of their faces, spend three hours minutely, boringly dickering about 'if the center will be north of this property line, or south of this property line, or Noon daily dispursement rule will be adhered to, and will the toilets be hooked up to the County in time, blah blah blah...nary a word out of their mouths about the CENTER ITSELF BEING FOR HIRING ILLEGAL ALIENS.
They, in their sense of unbelievable entitlement to "rights", will riot and cause damage if they don't get their center in that town or other towns around the USA.
They ought to be arrested as they stand in line outside the government center to publicly 'speak' (what right does an illegal alien have to stand before any elective body in the United States, as a 'resident' and offer an opinion about anything??).
Though quite a distance from this specific fight in Virginia, I enjoy hearing about it by WMAL-Radio on the web (streaming) and checking the many news stories...it is a microcosm of the story all over the USA and the outcome will be significant I thinkg (CNN, etc., everyone is covering it)
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